


Lunar

by Redbull_gave_me_wings



Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Girlfriends/No Wives, Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Established Müllendowski, Established Relationship, M/M, Not Beta Read, Not Much Romance, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:21:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 40,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26669623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redbull_gave_me_wings/pseuds/Redbull_gave_me_wings
Summary: Unfortunately, it is difficult to know where the line is until you've crossed it. Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20.
Relationships: Robert Lewandowski/Thomas Müller
Comments: 6
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> One day I'll get better at summaries. Not today. Anyway, enjoy!

Thomas and Robert were in the kitchen, cleaning up after their early dinner. Thomas’ hands were wrist deep in the foam as he washed up while Robert dried and packed away. Unbeknownst to everybody else, they had their satchels packed for tomorrow’s trip.

“You sure you aren’t having any second thoughts?” Thomas asked. No clarification was necessary as there was only one thing he could possibly be speaking of.

Robert gave him a look, “I’m going because you’re going.”

“I can go alone if you really don’t want to come. I won’t force you.” Thomas gave Robert a small smile. “I just have a thirst for adventure that cannot be quenched down here.” 

Robert put the dish cloth down and came up from behind Thomas and put his arms around Thomas’ waist and laid his head between Thomas’ shoulder blades, “I’m not letting you go alone. I’m nervous about going upstairs but you’ll protect me, won’t you?”

"Always." Thomas turned around in Robert’s arms, a wider grin on his lips now as he reached for Robert’s face with his hands, however, Robert jerked his head away quickly.

“Your hands are still soapy,” he gently reminded Thomas, whose smile turned mischievous. 

Robert recognized the look and rushed to get away. Thomas was quick to react as well and splashed water and foam at Robert, who laughed as he ran to their bedroom. Thomas was hot on his heels and tackled Robert onto the bed. Their laughter was only muffled by their kissing. Thomas ground his hips against Robert’s as he deepened the kiss. Robert’s moan was lost in the heat of their melded mouths. 

Thomas pulled away and smirked, “Got to be up early tomorrow. We have to sleep early.” 

Robert pouted a little, “You’re evil.” 

Thomas partially moved off Robert’s body, keeping his arm around his waist and their legs tangled together. “Yet you’re still with me.”

They lay in silence for a minute, both lost in their thoughts before Robert whispered into the silence, “Tomorrow everything changes.” 

“Everything changes,” Thomas agreed and burrowed his head into Robert’s chest.

***

The overhead lights of the underground caverns were off at this time of the morning so they only had a few streetlights to light their way. They stuck to the dark corners, navigating their way through the caverns they knew like the backs of their hands. Their world was a small one, confined to this enclosure like zoo animals. Even before a decade of life, it would be impossible not to know every inch of the terrain.

The walls of the caverns were just tightly packed, hardened sand and rock that was only one story tall. There wasn’t much in the way of fresh air or natural light. Had it not been for the greenhouses, plants would be a foreign thing for them but Thomas knew that there had to be more out there, even if the surface was a desolate land clogged with radiation, he had to know. Living underground all his life, all he knew were the earthy caves and artificial light.

As children, he, Robert and some of the other boys would relax in front of the wide screens of the greenhouse after a game of football in an empty cavern. That was the closest they had gotten to plants because nobody except the botanists had access to the greenhouse - such a precious resource it was. Although there was that one time they had made it inside.

Thomas’ train of thought was derailed when he bumped into Robert’s back. “What is it?” he whispered urgently.

If someone saw them, they could get into trouble. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out why they were sneaking about so early in the morning with full satchels, after all, Thomas had a bit of a reputation.

Robert held a finger to his lips and they waited in tense silence. In the silence between them, their controlled breathing seemed too loud. Robert’s shoulders relaxed minutely.

“I just thought I heard something.”

Thomas let out a sigh of relief. “Let’s keep going.”

They rounded the corner and saw the silhouette someone standing there just beyond the reach of the streetlight. They had been caught. The person took a heavy step forward and the light illuminated their figure. Their eyes met the crooked smirk of one Marco Reus.

“Oh, it’s just you,” sighed Thomas and Marco’s smirk fell off his face.

“What do you mean ‘just me’?”

“Nothing,” Robert placated, “It just could’ve been a lot worse than you. We know you won’t tell on us.”

“I might,” Marco objected, but it was obvious he was only saying so to be contrary. “Where are you sneaking off to so early in the morning? The greenhouse again?”

“We’re aiming a bit higher than that this time,” replied Thomas, his sharp teeth on display in a short laugh while pointing upwards.

Marco’s eyebrows rose in surprise and he opened his mouth to say something, but Robert interrupted him.

“We need to keep moving.” He took Thomas’ hand and made to move passed Marco. “You’ll keep our secret safe, yeah?”

Marco put his hand to his chin, pretending to think about it, “Hmm…I don’t know.”

Robert playfully shoved him with his free hand and they shared a laugh but quickly sobered.

“You know what they say though, right, about the radiation? What do you expect to find up there?” Marco was serious now.

Thomas shrugged. “We don’t know, but that’s part of the adventure. If it’s really so bad, we can always come back.”

Marco rolled his eyes. “Unless you’re too busy suffocating. There’s no oxygen up there. It’ll be suicide to go there.”

“What if it isn’t?” Thomas asked, eyes bright with enthusiasm.

“We don’t have time to stand around chatting,” Robert insisted, glancing around cautiously.

“How much food did you pack?” asked Marco. Both Robert and Thomas were dumfounded by the seemingly random question before Marco continued, “Because I’m coming with you.”

“Whoa – seriously?” Thomas’ eyes widened. After the greenhouse incident, Thomas was certain Marco wouldn’t follow him anywhere ever again but here they were, scheming together once again.

“I followed you guys without you noticing even with my fucked leg. You’re both idiots so, yeah, seriously.” He then turned around and started walking on with a noticeable limp in his step. Thomas and Robert shared a look. Robert squeezed Thomas’ hand and made to follow Marco. With his leg, it didn’t take them very long to catch up.

“Are you sure? This could be dangerous,” Thomas asked warily, not wanting his words to be taken the wrong way.

“You mean you don’t want me to slow you down,” Marco replied heatedly and clenched his jaw and picked up his pace to a brisk walk.

“No, I just don’t want –”

“We need to be quiet,” Robert interjected. “We all know the risks involved but we’re going anyway so let’s just leave it at that.”

They passed through the populated caverns as quickly as they could and eventually there was nothing but plain rock surrounding them – no houses or shops built into the stone. As they continued walking, the path grew steep as it curved upwards. There seemed to be no end to it, what’s worse there were no lights and they were effectively wandering blindly in the damp darkness. They stuck to the walls, but there were no turn offs. It was one straight road leading forward and upward. After a while, ahead of them they could see a small light.

“Is that the door?” Thomas’ voice might as well have been a scream as it cut through the silence.

“That’s a safe bet,” replied Robert.

With an end in sight, they could feel a sense of anticipation within themselves. Being born underground, they had no idea what the surface held in store for them. To add to the mystery, their parents were very reluctant to tell them anything about what the world was like prior to the radioactivity. They wouldn’t even say what caused it, only that it was lethal and that the surface was uninhabitable. The only information they could get was from books, but reading words couldn't make up for seeing it all with their own eyes.

When they reached the large doorway, Thomas could feel his knees grow weak. He took in a deep breath and the air felt revitalizing. The cave was situated in a forest with trees so tall that it looked like they could touch the sky. They put the trees and crops in the greenhouse to shame. All different types of plants and trees grew on either side of the cave opening.

“It smells clean. It's fresh air,” he said as he rushed forward.

“If the air wasn’t breathable, we would’ve noticed by now,” stated Marco. “It’s normal up here.”

“Better than normal. Our normal is nothing like this,” Thomas said with a laugh as he traced along the leaves of a plant.

Marco hesitantly walked forward, not quite believing his eyes. They had done so much just for five minutes in a greenhouse when all of this was above their heads all this time.

“Guys, look up,” said Robert and they did so immediately, afraid that the illusion would be shattered but they were pleasantly surprised. They were mesmerized by the sky at dawn. It was a subdued blue with the sun not yet high enough to illuminate the sky with the pinks and oranges of a proper sunrise but it still stole their breath away.

“It's the sky," said Robert. The amazement could be heard clearly in his voice. "It's beautiful."

“Wow,” Thomas agreed, “I mean, look at it. It doesn’t end. This is more than we could’ve dreamed of. It’s so…so bright.”

Robert couldn’t help but crack a smile at Thomas’ words. “This is the best idea you’ve ever had.”

“Hey!” Thomas protested playfully, “I’ve had other good ideas.”

“Well, do you have an idea what this is?” Marco asked and the tone of his voice made them look over immediately.

“It’s a door,” replied Thomas.

“The door to the cave, probably,” continued Robert, “It’s the same shape and size.”

And true to Thomas’ word, it was a slightly scrunched up metal door leaning against the broken brick wall that framed one side of the path. Marco’s face was tense and he beckoned them over. They approached him cautiously. Whatever was on the door, it wouldn’t be good.

“I mean, what _this_ is,” Marco clarified and his hand was stretched as wide as possible just to fit into the deep scratch marks near the door handle. “What did this? It couldn’t have been a person.”

“Hmm, what lives in forests? Bears, maybe? Are bears this big?" Thomas asked, looking at the forest around them with trepidation for the first time. 

“Well, if it was a bear, it opened the door.” Robert shrugged. “They live in caves so it's possible but I think we'd know if a bear wandered underground."

“Okay, so it probably wasn't a bear but it was _something_. Maybe that’s why we’re underground. If we’re not running from radiation then it’s probably whatever did this.” Marco gestured at the door.

“But if it was looking to hurt us then it could’ve done so. It didn’t though. We don’t know anything yet.” Thomas pointed out. “Maybe it’s letting us know that it’s safe up here.”

“Stop talking like it’s our friend,” Marco hissed.

“Stop talking like it’s our enemy,” Thomas replied. “We don’t know anything for sure yet.”

“What we do know is that if we run into this thing, we don’t stand a chance,” said Marco, once again tracing the deep grooves in the door. “There’s a reason that we’ve been underground.”

Thomas shook his head. “But we don’t know what that is yet. All our lives, we’ve been told that we can’t breathe up here but we’re breathing just fine. I’m not going back underground based off of speculation.”

“You always keep going and going. You never stop but that’s because it’s just the people around you that get hurt.” Marco’s tone was accusatory and the words didn’t need to be explicitly said for all three to know what he was talking about.

“That was an accident,” Thomas said, averting his eyes for only a millisecond.

“Was it, Thomas? I wanted to leave but you wanted to keep going. How much longer are you going to do these crazy things? Until someone dies?”

“Marco, enough. You can go back if you want. You’re old enough to make your own decisions,” Robert said firmly. Marco was his friend but he wouldn't let him continue putting Thomas down. “But we’re going to keep going.”

Marco looked to Robert in shock, “His madness is rubbing off on you. Damnit, do you guys have a death wish?”

“Not a death wish,” Thomas replied with a shake of his head. His eyes were shining with emotions, “A…a life wish. Living down there, it’s no way to live. We’re meant for more than stale air and brown dirt everywhere you look.”

“We just want to see what is out there. We aren’t forcing you to join us,” Robert pointed out. “We won’t go forever either, of course we’ll come back.”

“I said I’m coming with and I meant it. I’m just letting you know that it’s a stupid decision to continue,” Marco said from between clenched teeth and started walking along the path. Once again, Robert and Thomas followed after him. It was slow going, navigating through the underbrush while stopping to examine the things they had never seen before.

In the afternoon, they reached the edge of the forest and what they saw caused their eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates. There was a paved road ahead of them but that wasn’t what surprised them. A few kilometres away to their left was a large city.

“We have to go there. That’s got to be where the people are, right?” Thomas asked, but he was already walking towards the city, leaving Robert and Marco with no choice but to follow.

After minutes of walking along the street, they could hear the rumbling of an engine and they turned around. A car zoomed towards them and their necks turned in sync as the car drove passed them.

“I didn’t know anything could move that fast,” Robert said, awestruck.

“That must be a car. Funny, I thought they could fly. Either way, it’s like a completely different world up here,” Marco remarked. "But I guess now we know what that town has in store for us."

“I think we’ll find the answers we’re looking for there,” Robert pointed ahead of them.

“Do you think they noticed we’re missing yet?” Thomas asked as they continued walking.

“They must’ve without your loud mouth around,” Marco said, but there was no venom in his voice. “Speaking of, why’s it just you two? What about the others: Manu, Basti, Lukas?”

“Too big of a group would’ve attracted too much attention and in the worst case scenario, if we died, we're just working deliveries so it’s no big loss. It's not like we're teachers or something,” was Robert’s answer.

“Hey, deliveries are important,” Thomas protested. “Nobody would get any of their stuff without us.”

“Maybe they are important underground, but there were so few people that every job became important. Over there,” Marco jutted his chin in the city’s direction. “I bet only the botanists and doctors would matter.”

“Well, let’s find out,” with Thomas’ statement, they walked towards the city without a clue what awaited them.

As they drew closer, they could see more people and they could immediately tell that they would stick out like a sore thumb. Their style of dress was completely different to how the surface people dressed but they reckoned it wouldn’t get them in too much trouble. The trio’s clothing was monotone in colour and loose-fitting to make up for the clammy atmosphere underground.

They were almost as mesmerized by the concrete jungle as they were by the actual forest. The buildings were taller than any that they had ever seen. At that moment, they were surrounded by more people than they’d seen in their entire lives. The city was more than twice the size of the entire underground. As fascinated as they were, they were overwhelmed too by the sights, smells and sheer size of everything.

“Everybody’s staring at us,” Thomas whispered.

“They could at least try to hide it,” Marco replied. “But we look paler. And our clothes, they make us stick out. There’s nobody like us up here. We’re probably as weird to them as they are to us.”

“Just try and ignore them. Let’s go somewhere where there are less people.”

They tried to do that, but they were navigating their way through a crowded city they’d never been in before but after some time they found a park they could relax in. There were people taking their dogs for walks – they tried to keep their gawking at the four-legged animal to a minimum – and jogging all throughout but they found a large tree to rest under.

“How much food is left?” Thomas asked while playing with the grass beneath his fingers.

“None,” said a disgruntled Robert, “We took more breaks than we expected. Not to mention, we didn’t pack for three.”

“Well,” Marco began unapologetically, “The sandwiches were delicious.”

“Glad you think so. I worked really hard on those sandwiches,” Thomas teased as he leaned back against the thick trunk of the tree.

“We all know you didn’t lift a finger a make those sandwiches, Thomas,” Marco rolled his eyes good-naturedly and in doing so noticed a food truck at the other end of the park, “Hey, look, we can get some food there.”

Thomas scrambled over to get a look, “Yeah, good idea.”

They got up again and ambled over to the food truck. Fortunately, there wasn’t too much of a queue when they reached their destination.

“Okay, so I think we should get one of everything,” Thomas proposed.

“We don’t even know what all these things are. What if it’s not tasty? Then we’ll be stuck with all this food that we don’t want to eat,” Marco pointed out.

“I’ll eat anything,” Thomas insisted vehemently.

Marco just raised his brow and turned to the server about to ask how chicken tasted when Robert spoke up instead.

“Excuse me, what are these numbers next to the uh…options?”

The lady looked unsure about how to answer and it came out as a question instead, “It’s the price?”

They all blinked at her.

“You pay me in return for the food. With money,” the lady looked just as dumbfounded as they felt.

"Oh, yeah. Money. We forgot our money. Sorry about this," Robert smiled charmingly before they turned and walked away from the food truck.

“Damn. How did we forget about that?” Marco asked the other two, looking annoyed.

“Why can't they just trade or divide it all amongst themselves equally? It would be so much easier,” complained Robert.

“So what now?” Thomas asked. “We can’t eat?”

“Hey, do you guys need some help?”

They turned to look at the young man who had approached them. He’d been standing behind them in the line and heard their strange dilemma. They hesitated before answering.

“We have no money,” Thomas eventually responded.

“Don’t worry,” the man gave them a smile. “I’ll pay.”

And he did. The man, who’d introduced himself as Mario, had paid for their food and had only asked for their names in return. They walked over to one of the bench-tables in the park to sit while they ate. An awkward silence passed while they took their first taste of surface food. They were pleasantly surprised to find it more flavourful than what they were used to.

“Wow! This is really good. It’s like…like a flavour explosion in my mouth,” Thomas said in awe. Robert and Marco were in agreement.

Mario gave them an appraising look before laughing a little. “This wasn’t made by a Michelin star chef or anything but yeah it’s tasty.”

“Can you tell us what it’s like here?” Thomas asked. “Any radiation lately? Natural disasters? Anything that might make you want to leave?”

Mario looked at each of them curiously. “What? No? But you should know, right?”

“We’re from somewhere else,” Marco informed him but kept the details to a minimum. “And we’re just a bit curious about your town.”

Mario didn’t reply for a long while and bit his lip as he seemed to deliberate what to say next. “You guys wouldn’t happen to live underground, would you?”

Of all the things they’d expected him to say, they hadn’t considered that he would know the truth. Thus far, nobody seemed to know anything about them and chose to give them pitying looks, study them like zoo animals or ignore them completely.

“So, people know about us?”

“Not everyone.” Mario seemed to pick his words carefully. “But I do. How did you escape?”

“Escape?” Marco frowned at the odd choice of words, “Were we trapped?”

“No? Look, listen, you know that you shouldn’t be up here. You should go back home. You can’t be up here.”

“Why not?” Thomas asked.

Mario stood up hurriedly. “Listen, there isn’t time to talk. You have to go back home. The sun will set soon.”

Thomas wanted to continue pestering Mario for answers but Robert put his hand on his forearm. “Let’s go back.”

Thomas gave him a long look before conceding and standing too. Robert and Marco joined them on their feet. The four men looked at each other, feeling uncertain about how to proceed before Thomas waved. That seemed to be everyone else’s cue to bid farewell to Mario and try to retrace their steps back home.

“So we have to make it home before the sun sets? But why?” asked Thomas while he continued eating.

“I don’t know. But it seems urgent. We should hurry,” Robert replied.

Marco grit his teeth and tried to push himself to move even faster. Something was going to happen and he didn’t want to slow them down and be the reason that they get caught in the crossfires of whatever was happening on the surface. Despite his best efforts, he was tired and it was slow going. They had just reached the city border when the sun began to sink in the sky.

“Even when the sun goes away, it's still a pretty sight,” Thomas mused. “You know, I was thinking that maybe whatever broke the door comes out when the sun sets.”

“Thomas, do you really have to bring that up right now? The chances of us making it back home before that happens are slim to none,” Robert chided him.

“You guys should just go on ahead of me,” Marco grumbled. "You can probably make it if you run."

“Yeah, no,” Thomas said and there was no room for argument in his tone. “We’re not just going to leave you behind, Marco.”

“But I’m slow –”

“Yes, you are but it was my idea for us to come here. Whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”

By the time they reached the tree-line, the sky was beginning to purple. The temperature was at a steady decline, but that was not where their concern lay. Every noise they heard made them jump in fright in fear of whatever beast had broken the door down. It would be very close to the truth to say that they held some regret for venturing to the surface. Every buzz of a cricket or squawk of a bird sent chills up their spines. The joy they found in the forest hours prior was nowhere in sight this time around. The waning light and consequent growing darkness swallowed their awe for the forest. Their shadows grew larger and so did their fears.

“Are we even going the right way? This feels like a much longer walk than this morning,” Robert’s voice cut through the air like a guillotine.

“It’s because we’re stressed and scared of the dark. It doesn’t look like they have nightlights here,” Thomas pointed out.

“No, they do. Look up,” Marco said from where he was struggling behind them. "The little ones are stars, if I remember correctly, and the big one..."

Through the gaps in the tree leaves, they could see the stars glittering in the sky. This far from the city, the stars could twinkle brightly, but the brightest thing in the sky just then was the full moon. The three of them temporarily forgot their fears and stood staring in wonder at the moon. They found it was easier to stare at than the sun.

“Do you guys – do you feel something when you look at that light or is it just me?”

“It’s not just you."

The trio felt an unfamiliar surge go through their bodies as they stood under the moonlight. The rush of energy lasted for all of a minute before the pain of broken bones snuck up on them. In the silence of the forest, the creaking and cracking of their bones resounded like fireworks. Their arms and legs bent in unnatural ways as their bones – all 206 of them – reshaped themselves, piece by piece. Their agonized yells echoed throughout the woods that night.

Thick, shiny fur sprouted out from their pores as they grew snouts and tails. Two inch long canines, each as sharp as a guillotine, grew in their mouths. During their first journey to the surface, in the moonlight, they transformed into lycanthropes for the very first time. They stood on their hind legs, backs hunched over, and yet their front legs could still touch the ground but that didn’t mean they couldn’t gallop on all fours.

Three spine-tingling howls cut through the still air of the forest and the prey knew to hide from what was coming, for the trio were truly predators on the prowl.


	2. Chapter 2

The following morning, agents of the Human Anti-Lycanthrope Agency (H.A.L.A.) were swarming around their headquarters as they prepared for their mission. Sergio made sure each agent accompanying him on the mission was busy, either loading ammunition or checking that the guns were fully functional, before striding back into his office. He heaved a great sigh as he practically fell onto his chair. What he wouldn’t do for a drink.

“Damnit.” His voice was nearly at a yell, but not quite. “An entire pack.”

He rubbed his forehead. He could feel a headache coming on, a manifestation of his frustration. H.A.L.A. agents wore white for every mission. It dirtied easily and didn’t do much, or anything really, in terms of stealth but it served a purpose. White was clean, it was pure. It acted as a reminder that each action, everything they did, should and would be in service of the human race, and thus an act of justice. But this – was this pure? Was this just? Sergio wasn’t sure. The stain on his conscience might just be too much to bear this time around.

The earlier meeting drained a lot out of him but at least it hadn’t been for nothing. It had been decided that immediate action had to be taken. The underground lycanthropes had broken the door and were now venturing to the surface. Though he hadn't been alive at the time, he knew the facts regarding their descent. Decades before, when that pack had made the decision to live underground, B.A.R.S.A. had told them of the adverse effects this would have upon them should they return but they had done so anyway. There really was no other choice.

Although the door leading underground could easily be replaced, what could stop them from breaking it once again? And perhaps next time, not only three scouts would be sent, but even more? Guards could be posted outside but what would happen if they decided to break through at night on a full moon and shift? No, there were too many risks to human life involved. And that was the priority: preserving human life. There was no telling how many humans a single lycanthrope could maim or worse, kill.

This was what he had to do but – but. Why did those lycanthropes have to come here above the surface? Could he really lead his men into what would essentially be a slaughter? Every man, woman and child living beneath the surface would have their life cut abruptly short.

He knew his objective, his duty. As the commander, it fell on him to make these difficult decisions. It was his burden to bear and he could not – _would not_ – waver. If his men saw him questioning himself, they would begin to question what they were fighting for. He was their leader and as such, he couldn’t allow himself to fall apart.

***

The mid-morning sun found Robert, Thomas and Marco lying in their birthday suits in a clearing in the woods.

“Ah, fuck,” said Marco, tasting iron in his mouth. As he raised his hand to rub his forehead, he found his hands caked in dried blood. “What the fuck!”

He shot up with the speed of a bullet and some of the tension in his shoulders eased when he saw Robert and Thomas weren’t too far away – they were cuddled up in the shade of a tree.

Robert was roused by the noise of Marco’s panic. “What’s…wrong?” His voice trailed off as he saw the scene around them. “Thomas? Thomas, wake up.”

“What?” Thomas replied groggily. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes but felt wakefulness revive his brain when his eyes saw what lay before them. “Oh God.”

In the clearing, lay the carcasses of five rabbits and a deer. Whereas the rabbits were nothing but bare bone, the deer was mostly whole as if it had been killed for sport. Flies had already gathered to feast on the flesh that still clung to the bones. The surrounding grass was painted red. They had never eaten meat before, so even if the sight before them wasn’t enough to turn their stomachs inside out, the unfamiliar heaviness of meat in their stomachs did it. Before they knew it, their midnight snacks made a reappearance in a less appealing form.

“What the fuck did we do last night?” Marco asked once the contents of his stomach were emptied. He stumbled away from the clearing on unsteady legs. Thomas and Robert followed after him, eager to forget what they’d woken up to.

“I remember looking at the light in the sky, the moon, and then we – our bones started breaking,” stated Robert as he tried to use leaves to clean his hands of blood. “I don’t remember anything after that.”

Once they were far enough away from the clearing, they stopped and tried to understand what had happened to them. Thomas sagged against a tree.

“I’m sorry. This – whatever happened – it’s my fault.”

Robert came closer and pulled Thomas into his arms. “It’ll be okay, Thommy. Don’t worry. There’s no way you could’ve known and, besides, we knew there were risks.”

“But –”

“But nothing,” he insisted, then pulled away a little but kept his arm around Thomas’ waist and raised his voice to include Marco too. “I don’t know what happened last night but it’s never happened before. If we go back home, it probably won’t happen again. We came, we saw and now we can go back home.”

“Okay, but we’re naked and covered in blood. People will ask questions,” Marco pointed out.

“There isn’t anything we can do about that right now. We'll have to tell them the truth. Let’s just go home.”

“Do you know where that is?” asked Marco, gesturing at the forestry around them.

“Not exactly,” Robert admitted. “But we’ve got until the lights go out – no, we’ve got until sunset to find our way back home.”

***

“Marco, are you okay?” Thomas asked, voice still shaky.

They were well and truly lost by the time noon rolled around. They felt as though they were walking around in circles. Whenever they thought back to the previous night, their memories blurred after the point at which their bones broke. They didn’t understand what had happened to them but were grateful that it wasn’t permanent.

“Just perfect,” he replied with sarcasm dripping from each word.

“I just meant - your leg. We’ve been doing a lot of walking.”

The events of that morning had distracted Marco enough not to notice, but his leg didn’t ache as it usually would. The shock was evident in his voice as he responded, “No, actually, my leg feels just fine.”

“Really?” both Robert and Thomas stopped in surprise. Perhaps they were just clinging to the idea that something good had come out of last night’s incident.

“It probably happened when my bones fixed themselves in the night.” Marco shrugged but it went without saying that he still would’ve preferred having a bum leg if it meant last night could be erased.

The following silence was broken by crass noises. “Is that…someone throwing up?”

And Robert’s ears were correct; they all definitely heard the unmistakable sound of retching to their left. They wandered over and were genuinely surprised to see Mario puking in the bushes and on his shoes. His cheeks were blotchy and his eyes watery. He looked awful.

“Mario?”

He startled violently and he had fear in his eyes as he looked at them. His eyes widened almost comically when he recognized them. “You’re alive? Oh shit…oh fuck.” His whispering grew a bit frantic and it would be an understatement to say the trio were a little spooked by his behaviour.

“Are you okay?” Thomas asked, walking further towards Mario.

“Am I okay? How did you guys – never mind. There’s no time. Come with me.” He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and finally stood up straight. “We have to leave.”

“We’re going home, just like you said we should.”

Mario hadn't waited for a response before setting off in a near run. It seemed to take him a few moments to process Robert’s words and realize that they weren’t following him. “No. You can’t go there anymore. It’s not a good idea.”

“But yesterday you said –”

Mario hardly let Thomas get a word out before interrupting him. “That was before…listen, last night something happened to you guys, right? You changed – I can help you with that. I’ll help you figure it all out and then tonight you can go back home before the sun sets.”

“But you just said we can’t go home?”

Mario groaned and dragged his hand over his face in a show of frustration. “Please! Please, just trust me. You have to come with me now.”

Perhaps it was their ignorance of how cruel the world could be or maybe it had to do with the sheer desperation on Mario’s face that convinced them. Marco stepped forward and held his hands out in a placating manner. “Okay, we’re coming.”

“You promise we can go home before the sun sets?” Thomas asked.

Mario nodded. “Yes, I promise. Now, come.”

His face was tense with panic as he led them to the street and to his car. When they were all seated in the vehicle, with Marco riding shotgun and Robert and Thomas at the back, Mario put his head in his hands and leaned against the top of the steering wheel.

“What’s going on?” Marco asked with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Mario just whined, guilt twisting his stomachs into knots. “I’ll tell you but first, we need to go to my house. It’s not safe here.”

“Not safe? But you said we could come back?” Robert asked suspiciously.

Mario ignored him and turned the key in the ignition. The rumble of the car filled the silence as he stepped on the acceleration pedal. It only occurred to him then to explain to them how seatbelts work. Thomas turned and looked at the forest through the rear windshield, watching as they travelled further and further from their home once again.

“Mario,” he said firmly. “You aren’t making any sense. And does this thing have to move so fast? Can’t you slow it down?”

Mario took a breath and eased up on the acceleration pedal but still didn’t answer anyone’s questions. Eventually, they resigned themselves to having to play the waiting game and they sat in tense silence, watching as the forest faded into the plains of countryside and then the concrete jungle of a city before finally, the quiet suburbs. Mario checked the rear view mirror repeatedly to ensure that they were not followed. Fortunately, the H.A.L.A. agents had noticed him looking green around the gills that morning so he hoped that would explain his absence.

He let out another sigh when he pulled into his driveway. Not sure where the day might take him, he didn’t park his car in the garage just yet.

“Walk quickly,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady. “I don’t want my neighbours to see you. You don’t exactly look presentable.”

Thomas, Robert and Marco looked around in mild interest at the interior of surface houses. Their fascination at everything new was dulled by the shock and concern of their day thus far. Everything seemed to be turned on its head from the moment they left the underground, but perhaps the most infuriating part was that they didn’t even know why.

“Follow me.” Mario beckoned them further inside. “So this is the bathroom. Here are facecloths and towels. I’ll get you all some clothes. You can take turns showering. I just can’t explain anything with you all looking so axe-murder-y. Just let me get something out the bathroom really quick.”

Marco told Robert and Thomas to go shower first and followed after Mario. They looked around the bathroom briefly before stepping inside the shower. It was a tight fit for the both of them but they needed each other’s comfort at the moment.

While the pair showered, Marco sat at the dining table with nothing but a towel around his waist. Mario brushed his teeth at the kitchen sink, eager to rid himself of the lingering taste of vomit.

“Do you have another for me? My breath isn’t exactly minty fresh either,” Marco asked, walking up to Mario.

Mario spat the foam out before replying, “Uh, yeah. In the bathroom. But you can have some juice or water in the meantime?”

Marco shrugged. “Thanks. We’ve had a rough morning and by the look of things, I guess, you did too. Nice house, by the way, or well I assume it is."

Mario nodded with a little laugh and a shrug. "It's nothing special but it's a roof over my head...but it must beat dirt walls at least."

"Hey, dirt architecture has its advantages. It keeps the cleaning to a minimum," joked Marco as he rinsed his mouth out with the glass of water Mario had given him.

Mario went to sit at the table with the morning’s events replaying in his head. Had he known what would’ve happened, he never would have told Sergio.

“So then what are these grand surface houses made of?” Marco asked once he was finished.

“Mmm," hummed Mario. "Well, cement and bricks. And I think those are made of clay, maybe."

"Clay is from rivers, right? It just sounds like fancy dirt to me," replied Marco with a little teasing smirk.

Mario laughed. "How'd you even know that? It's not like there are underground rivers, are there?"

"None that I know of," replied Marco with a shrug. "But it's a small world and there are a _lot_ of books so I just try to keep from being bored any way that I can." It wasn't like Marco could continue playing football after he injured his leg.

“Did you – I mean, was it nice living underground?”

“It is what it is but at least our ceiling lights didn’t turn us into monsters. You said you could explain it to us. Are you a doctor?”

“No way, that’s a bit out of my mental capabilities,” Mario joked but it was hollow. “I work for some people who…work directly with people like you.”

Marco took note of Mario’s hesitation with a frown. “And you don’t change either?”

Just as Mario was about to reply, Thomas and Robert walked in dressed in the tight and unfamiliar surface clothing.

“Your turn,” Robert said to Marco. “You’ll enjoy it. The water’s much warmer.”

Marco was eager to get the crusty blood and dirt off his body and went to the bathroom without further prompting.

"You might set a world record for the quickest shower," Mario said.

Thomas shrugged. "There's not much access to water underground so we have to be quick about it."

“Feeling better?” Mario asked the pair as they took seats at the table.

They shrugged, but Thomas still spoke, “Thank you, Mario. You’ve been a great help.”

Mario could feel the guilt like an itch beneath his skin and a burning prick behind his eyes. His smile was as fragile as glass. “Yes, I uh – you’re welcome. Do you mind? I need to go outside and make a phone call.”

He rushed out with his heart in his throat before either of them could reply.

“What’s a phone call?”

***

“Are you excited?" asked Gerard as he pushed the air bubbles out of the syringe. Within the syringe was a clear fluid that could be mistaken for water. In actuality, it was a new breakthrough medicine that would really change everything.

Marc-Andre rolled his shoulders and nodded. “Yes. It's about time. We've all been waiting years for this.”

Gerard sterilized a spot on Marc's spine before giving him the injection. Not even a few seconds later, Marc's ears grew pointed and furry. Gerard leant in to get a closer look but his ears went back to normal almost immediately after.

"Do you feel any different?"

"Not really." Marc shook his head. "Wanna go outside and see if it worked?"

"You really have to ask, man?" scoffed Gerard as he disposed of the needle and cleared the room. "Let's go. Soon, we'll have lycanthropes knocking the doors down to get some of this suppressor."

“Oh, you’re finished?” came Leo’s quiet slurry mumble from next to them. He quickly matched their stride as they approached the elevator on that floor. "How do you feel, Marc?"

Marc explained the situation to Lionel and the three of them went out to the large gardens on B.A.R.S.A's premises. By the time they reached their destination, there was a small group of other practitioners and lycanthropes with them. Marc felt a bit like a lab rat as he stood naked on the grass in front of them but he put that at the back of his mind and focused on turning.

Marc still felt the pain that came with shifting, that uncomfortable feeling of his body rearranging itself, but he felt a level of control that lycanthropes usually did not. This suppressor would change the lives of lycanthropes all over the world. They wouldn’t be a victim to the curse any longer.

Once fully transformed, he ran around a bit as everyone cheered happily at the obvious success of the treatment. The strength and speed of a lycanthrope far surpassed those of humans. The downside to this were the uncontrollable animalistic urges they fought with three days a month, but with the suppressor the urges could be tamed. The result was the harmony of the body of a beast and the mind of a human.

After he changed back, the group began to disperse a bit, with the other lycanthropes being eager to receive the suppressor too. Marc rushed over to Gerard who held his clothes for him. "Next, they need to make stretchy lycanthrope clothes. Not everybody's a nudist."

“Live a little.” Gerard grinned, big white teeth on display for a moment before he got serious again. “It's taken far too long but now everything can start changing for the better. Hopefully, all the research and campaigning that we've all done will be enough to convince that dumbass Ramos to stop with all this murder talk.”

“Hopefully it’s still just talk,” Marc replied as they walked down the hall, back towards the reception. “We both know he was a split second away from massacring all lycanthropes."

Leo fiddled with his ear with a troubled expression on his face. "It always feels like he's two seconds away from doing something truly reckless."

Gerard nodded in agreement. All these years, both B.A.R.S.A. and H.A.L.A. have had a strained peace. It was draining, to say the least. "Anytime we've spoken about things, he tells me he won't do anything unwarranted or crazy but…"

He was interrupted by his ringtone. "Speak of the devil," he said to Leo and Marc.

"Yeah?" he said into his phone, forgoing any pleasantries.

"I have a new case," Ramos replied. "I need to know if three adult males have recently come in - most likely seeking asylum."

"Not that I know of. How recently is recently?"

"Today." If Gerard had to guess, he'd say Ramos sounded really stressed and maybe a little frantic - and such a combination for Ramos usually resulted in someone getting hurt.

"Hmm. You haven't done anything stupid, have you?" He huffed when he only heard the line go dead.

"And?" asked Marc. "Anything interesting?"

"A new case - three suspects but he didn't tell me what they did. He also acts as though he hasn't done anything crazy lately but I don't know - he sounded weird."

“He’s definitely done something crazy,” agreed Lionel. 

***

Once they were all clean and clothed, they sat at Mario’s dining table. He offered them late lunch but nobody could stomach the thought of eating.

“You said you would answer our questions,” Marco stated in a tone that showed he would allow no more beating around the bush, his earlier joking side nowhere to be seen.

“You haven’t asked anything yet,” Mario mumbled nervously, rubbing his hands together as he joined them at the table.

“What’s going on? Tell us all of it.”

Mario hesitated and wrung his hands together. “Let me explain. First, I need to ask. Was that human blood that you were covered in?”

“No,” Robert answered. “They were animals - a deer and...well, a lot of bones too. But it wasn't a person.”

“Okay. Okay,” he said and he seemed to calm just a little. “I did know what would happen to you. During the full moon, people like you transform into something that is far from human. They’re called lycanthropes and they’re dangerous - so dangerous that the blood you were covered in could’ve easily been human had you been in the city when you changed. That’s why I tried to warn you to go back home.”

“So, to be clear, we live underground to avoid the full moon?" asked Marco.

Mario nodded. “Yes. As lycanthropes, you aren’t in control of your actions. And you’re big and strong and dangerous. So, many years ago, your pack - ”

"Our what?" asked Robert. "Our packet of what?"

Mario frowned, not having expected the question. "Not a packet. A _pack_. It's like your family but not necessarily related by blood. Everybody you were living underground with is your pack. As I was saying, your pack decided to live underground to avoid the effects of the full moon on the condition that they never return to the surface."

“So if that's true, then why won’t you let us go home?” asked Thomas. “Why did you say it isn’t safe? Wouldn’t that be the safest place for us to be?”

Mario bit his lip and made to rise from his chair. “Would you like some tea?”

Marco scowled at Mario’s evasive tactics. “Don’t make tea. Do you understand the position we’re in right now? We want answers.”

Mario’s mouth was pinched and he took a long time to answer. Just as he took a deep breath and looked about to respond, the front door slammed open and men dressed in bloodied white uniforms stormed in.

It all descended into madness quickly after that. In their shock at the sudden disruption, Mario, Marco, Thomas and Robert shot up from their seats. Sergio and two other H.A.L.A. agents aimed their guns at the lycanthropic trio. The steely look in their eyes told Mario they were ready to pull the trigger.

The trio could also sense the tension of the situation and backed up against the far wall, as far away as possible from these malevolent strangers. Their expressions were the same, wide eyed and panicked. It felt as though they couldn’t catch a break from the moment they decided to venture to the surface but this time, the hair on the back of their necks were raised in the face of true danger.

“Wait – no, don’t,” Mario called out.

Mario stood firm in the face of Sergio's fierce, analyzing glare. Sergio shook his head in disbelief. After confirming that the three lycanthropes weren't at B.A.R.S.A. he had to resort to something he hoped he'd never have to. “I didn’t want to believe it, but you did, didn’t you? You called B.A.R.S.A.”

Mario was caught off guard before it dawned on him. “You’re monitoring my phone. But why?”

Instead of answering, Sergio looked almost regretful, like a disappointed parent who needed to discipline their child. “I knew you wouldn’t have the stomach to do what needs to be done. You’re too soft. They’re dangerous. They need to die.”

The three men they spoke of were listening intently but couldn’t look away from the guns still being aimed at them. They knew without being told, call it instinct maybe, that these weapons were deadly.

“They aren’t. They didn’t know.”

“The hell they didn’t! That pack knew the consequences of going underground: they could never return to the surface. But now they have, and it’s our responsibility to –”

“To what?” Thomas snapped causing the agent in front of him to step a bit closer. His eyes flickered back to the agent in front of him for a moment before locking onto Sergio. “Kill us? We haven’t done anything. We were on our way back home.”

“To report back on your findings, of course. You wanted to get information from our newest recruit, Mario. That’s why you targeted him – you knew he was soft.”

“You have it all wrong. Mario found us.”

Sergio shook his head and raised his rifle once more. “I can’t let you live. Your pack will turn feral if exposed to even a few full moons. I won’t take that chance.”

In his desperation, Mario flung himself in front of the cornered trio. “Don’t do it. They’re afraid. They don’t know anything, I swear. Just let them live, please.”

“We have our orders, Mario. The elimination of the underground pack is our responsibility. It is our duty for the sake of humanity. Now move!”

Mario’s feet stayed rooted to the ground. He didn’t move an inch, knowing that Sergio’s moral code would hold firm: he wouldn’t harm a human being.

“Mario! Move! Is this it, then? Fine, you want them to live so badly, but are you willing to die for them?”

BANG!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now all the main characters are here! Okay, so a few things. I tried my best to make acronyms that make sense. I couldn't think of anything that would work with M.A.D.R.I.D. so I went with H.A.L.A. from the 'Hala Madrid' phrase instead. As for B.A.R.S.A. it's pretty much the same (B.A.R.C.A. wouldn't work) and even that acronym still doesn't make complete sense :'( Their role in the story will be explained in the next chapter which will be up this time next week.
> 
> Things get a bit heavy from this point onwards but I've tried to include it all in the tags without getting too spoilery. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Concrit is always welcome. Stay safe.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a disclaimer, I do not know anything about how hospitals are run so if you see anything and think 'that doesn't seem realistic' just know that it probably isn't and I apologize. Anyway, enjoy!

BANG!

The tense moment was disrupted, or perhaps enhanced, by the harsh banging of Mario’s front door flying off its hinges. A blur of blonde fur came bursting through the open doorway. The lycanthrope leapt off the walls with great agility and tackled Sergio to the ground before anyone could react. His gun went off, but the bullet shot harmlessly into the ceiling. The attention of the agents switched from the trio before them to the much larger beast that had Sergio pinned to the floor with his jowls scrunched in a ferocious snarl. Immediately assessing the threat, all their guns were aimed at the lycanthrope.

Before anyone could take another breath, they heard someone yell, “Marc! We all want him dead but get off of him, for the love of God.” Gerard came rushing in and took in the scene in Mario’s home. “Ramos, you dumbass.”

Marc moved off Sergio but looked no less threatening, standing nearly to their chests while on all fours. Sergio glared at the two. “I can have your dog put down for attacking me.”

But Gerard wasn’t paying him any attention and had turned to the other agents. “Lower your weapons. You have no right to kill these men. They haven’t done anything.”

“You don’t know that,” Sergio hissed.

“Yes, I do,” argued Gerard. “Someone named Mario told me that three innocent lycanthropes will be murdered in cold blood by you. Who is Mario, by the way?”

Sergio’s glare was venomous when he turned to Mario. “So you’ve already picked a side, have you?”

Once again, Mario had no words but he was saved by Gerard. “Don’t change the subject. Let them go. They’re with me now.” 

Sergio still protested however. “They’re from the underground pack. They have even less control than the surface lycanthropes. They’ll become feral.”

But Gerard merely waved a hand frivolously. “The suppressor will help with that. And if it doesn’t, then we'll make one that will. Either way, I’m not going to stand by and watch you wipe out an entire pack of lycanthropes for the crime of existing.”

“I'm not. I'm wiping out an entire pack of lycanthropes for the crime of surfacing when they knew they shouldn't! You’re getting in the way of my job.”

“Your job is to save lives not take them unnecessarily, you trigger-happy asshole.” Gerard stepped into Sergio’s space, but the commander of H.A.L.A. wasn’t backing down either, in fact a fierce look lit up his brown eyes.

Marc chose that moment to transform back into a human. The creaking and cracking of bones filled the silence as Marc-Andre promptly shifted. “Geri.”

Gerard sighed and relaxed his shoulders before taking a step back from Sergio. “Yeah, you’re right. Ramos, whatever I think of you and whatever you think of them,” he pointed at the trio who were staring at Marc-Andre, “doesn’t matter anymore. You have no business here.”

Thereafter, he wordlessly handed Marc the spare clothes in his backpack. He made quick work of getting dressed, mistaking Thomas, Robert and Marco’s collective gawking for his state of undress. In truth, they were surprised to see what a lycanthrope truly looks like and even more shocked to see him shift between forms voluntarily.

“When they turn feral and hurt people, that blood will be on your hands!” Sergio shoved his finger at Gerard’s chest with a fire in his eyes before they gathered their things and made for the gaping front door. “Mario, we'll be having words but for now you’re suspended.”

With that said, they were gone – just as quickly as they arrived.

“Fuck, I hate that guy,” complained Gerard before calming his facial expression. “Hi there! I’m Gerard Pique. I work for –”

He stopped short when everyone seemed to sag in a collective exhale. Confused, he turned to Marc, who shook his head at Gerard.

“Put yourself in their shoes, Geri. They were just at gunpoint,” muttered Marc.

Gerard hummed and turned to Mario instead. “Thank you for calling. It must’ve taken a lot to go against your boss. Do you mind if I sit?” Gerard sat without waiting for a reply.

Marco looked at Mario sharply. “Those are the guys you work for? They were going to _kill_ us.”

Mario couldn’t meet his eyes, with the knowledge that his co-workers had done much worse. “I’m sorry.”

“Take a seat. You must have a lot of questions,” said Marc calmly as he sat next to Gerard. Before long, everyone was seated at Mario’s dining table. There were just enough chairs for the six men.

Thomas, who’d been quiet since the H.A.L.A. agents left, was the first to speak up again. “Who were those men in white?”

“H.A.L.A. – the Human Anti-Lycanthrope Agency. It’s their job to deal with unruly lycanthropes to protect humanity and until _very_ recently, I worked for them, but I didn’t know that they were coming here. I wanted to protect you guys. You have to believe me.”

Robert nodded, “We believe you, Mario. You shielded us from their weapons. Thank you.”

Mario found that having their confidence didn’t ease the heavy feeling of lead in his stomach but he nodded anyway.

“Are you their boss?” Marco asked Gerard. “That Ramos guy seemed to listen to you.”

“No,” Gerard laughed at the idea. “No, I’m not. I work for B.A.R.S.A, that’s the Bureau of Arcane Research and Science Association. That’s a lot of words but it just means that we do what we can to help people like you.”

“You’re a doctor for…lycanthropes?” Thomas asked, trying to make sense of what Gerard said.

He nodded. “And Marc here is my pet. You may also call us Beauty and the Beast.”

Marc-Andre flicked Gerard's ear as he introduced himself fully after which he said, “Ignore most of what Gerard says.”

“So, how come you can transform whenever you want?”

“I’ve taken a suppressor that allows me to have better control. You can too, that’s why we’re here. To help you guys.”

Robert shared a look with both Thomas and Marco and knew they were thinking the same. “Thank you but we would rather just go home. We – the surface hasn’t been how we expected, but if we went back underground, we would stop transforming on full moons.”

After all, as pleasant as the fresh hair and beautiful as the sky may have been, they were looking for some normalcy in their lives – not being hunted or treated as outsiders here above ground. However, an uncomfortable silence fell over the room as Mario, Gerard and Marc contemplated how to break the news. Mario brushed a hand through his hair anxiously and made a point of studying the wooden table a bit too closely.

Gerard cleared his throat before speaking, “You can’t go home. Well, _technically_ you could,” he rephrased upon receiving three sharp looks from the lycanthropic trio, “But it’s not a good idea. You see, before the H.A.L.A. guys came here…they went to the underground caverns and murdered the lycanthropes that were living there.”

Three jaws fell to the floor in shock at the news. They were tempted to believe it was a lie, but they each remembered the cold eyes and red-stained uniforms of the agents – they knew it was true. Thomas felt a stone in his throat, after all coming up here was his idea. He had convinced Robert and Marco to join him and now their family, their friends – 

“No, don’t lie. They couldn’t have – everyone?” His eyes were wide as plates.

“We don’t know how they knew that the underground pack was coming to the surface. We suspect they might have installed trackers in you guys when you were younger without informing B.A.R.S.A,” Gerard continued.

Thomas abruptly stood up and stormed from the room. Hearing Gerard steamroll over his question so factually was fraying his nerves even more. Robert went after him, following him all the way into the bathroom where Thomas had lowered the toilet lid to sit on.

“What's this guy talking about? It's bullshit, right? They couldn't have done that, right?" Thomas' hands were shaking as he gestured animatedly while he spoke.

Robert sighed deeply and creases formed between his brows as he frowned. "I...You saw those guys in white - they were dangerous. I think this Pique guy was telling the truth." 

"But...no. It just can't be."

Robert took Thomas into his arms, allowing him to bury his face in his stomach while his hands brushed through Thomas' blonde curls. He knew there weren’t words to make Thomas feel better at this moment, in fact his own heart had sunk at the truth of their situation. He, Thomas and Marco were the only three left of everyone living underground. They only had each other now.

Robert wanted to hold Thomas closer, he wanted to comfort him and be consoled as well but there wasn’t enough space for them both on the toilet so he gently guided Thomas to the floor beside the sink and there they sat in each other’s arms, foreheads pressed together as they soaked in the other's presence. Robert ran his fingers through the curls at the nape of his neck.

Minutes passed before Thomas spoke again, “We should never have come here. I’m sorry.”

“Shh. It’s not your fault. We are in this together. It’s not just you, Thomas.”

He couldn’t deny that it had been a grave mistake, but he wouldn’t for a second have Thomas believe he had to bear the burden alone. The three of them knew it was a risk surfacing from the underground and they were all prepared to risk their own lives, but never did they think they’d sign the death warrants of everyone they’d ever known.

Thomas sighed and kissed Robert’s forehead then his lips. “I’m lucky to have you with me. I love you.”

Robert nodded, meeting Thomas' sea-coloured gaze. “I love you too, Thomas.”

“We just left Marco there alone. You’re right, it’s us three now. We should go back and figure all this out. Getting emotional won't help anything.” Thomas sighed deeply and rose to his feet with Robert joining him soon after.

Back in the dining room, Marco looked relieved to see them again. He, too, had the weight of the destruction of their home on his shoulders but nobody to really turn to.

While they had been gone, Marco explained the truth of their situation to Gerard: that it had been their curiosity that brought them to the surface. They had no ill-intentions and the rest of their pack wouldn't have joined them. He blinked quickly and spoke to the couple in a stiff voice clearly meant not to show any emotion.

“Gerard told me that there’s a rule that says what Ramos did is illegal and he can try to have them all be detained as punishment.”

“There’s a possibility that it might fall through though,” Gerard warned. “If it's true that he was only acting on someone else’s orders then he’ll be protected. I meant it though, we’ll do whatever we can to help you guys. It’s quite the ordeal.”

Mario shook his head. “He probably will be. The H.A.L.A. president himself gave the order – but anything’s possible.” He remedied, in hopes of giving the lycanthropes something positive to cling to.

“We should head over to B.A.R.S.A. now, if that’s okay. The full moon’s rising again tonight. So, it’s imperative that you receive the suppressor as soon as possible.”

The three nodded in agreement, as they did not want a repeat of that morning’s events: waking up to bloodied carcasses and vomiting as a result.

The six men shuffled quietly towards the gaping front door, with Mario leading the way. He looked down sadly at the door which had been broken in half by Marc earlier.

Marc-Andre cleared his throat before sheepishly apologizing. "You'll definitely be compensated. Sorry about that, man."

“Uh, well, it could've been much worse if you hadn't intervened. I’m sorry again but B.A.R.S.A. will keep you safe, I believe that. So, I guess I’ll see you guys around then,” Mario said with a small, brittle smile.

“You aren’t coming with?” asked Marco, eyebrows dropping in a frown. “What if Ramos comes back? He would’ve hurt you too earlier.”

“I – well?” Mario looked at Gerard for permission, who merely shrugged.

And so, all six men clamoured into the B.A.R.S.A. SUV with Gerard in the driver’s seat. He was debating whether to turn on the radio to kill the silence when Robert spoke up.

“When will we be able to return to the underground?”

Gerard scratched at his beard. “Well, one day in the future but nobody’s allowed anywhere near there now besides the H.A.L.A. clean-up crew. People know about lycanthropes in general but just not about the underground pack so they’re going to try to hide what they’ve done from the public.”

“But – that’s murder. You said they’d be punished,” argued Marco.

“I said they _might_ be punished. There’s no guarantee. B.A.R.S.A. is only a medical-slash-rehabilitation facility, we have no real authority over H.A.L.A. and their methods. If they clean it up, they can claim whatever they want – that your pack was planning on returning to the surface without authorization. They’ll say that the pack would turn feral and be even more dangerous to human society and that’s why they had to do what they did.”

“But that’s lying,” Thomas protested with a frown. Mario squirmed in his seat.

Marc nodded simply. “That’s what happens sometimes. Victims hardly get the justice they deserve but believe me when I tell you we'll do what ever we can to help you.”

The pack bonds the trio unknowingly had prevented them from being exposed to the horrors of society on the surface. Underground, everybody took care of each other and everybody respected each other. There was no need for court, let alone prison. They'd only read of such things in books.

“If we take this suppressor, we can transform at will forever?” asked Marco, changing the subject.

“Yes, think of it like this: as you are now, it's like two sides of a coin. You're either a human or a lycanthrope, but with the suppressor, you get the best of both. You’ll be able to transform whenever and have heightened senses as humans too, which I'm told is awesome. And it won’t affect your speed or strength either. It just gives you more control.”

“Good,” Marco mumbled, staring outside the window.

***

When they arrived at B.A.R.S.A, Lionel was playing Candy Crush on his phone since his shift was over. He looked up when they walked in and studied the new arrivals. He frowned a bit when he counted four instead of three, but he knew Gerard would fill him in later. It was already half passed three in the afternoon, and it was more important to administer the suppressor to the lycanthropes than to ask questions.

"I've already set everything up. Let's go," said Lionel.

Gerard nodded and thanked him and handled the introductions, knowing that Leo wasn't really one to lead a conversation around new people. After the introductions, the group walked through the facility. It was a large building, with sections serving different purposes. There were the doctors' offices, operation rooms, administration blocks, the medical wing for injured lycanthropes, the rehabilitation wing where they could recuperate, as well as another area with bedrooms just in case any lycanthropes needed a safe haven. They did their best to cover all the bases. Finally, the door they reached had a 'MEDICAL WING' plaque above it.

"Just through here," said Marc, as he opened the door for everybody to walk through. Lionel led the party into the room where he'd prepared three vials of the suppressor and sterilized three needles.

"Take a seat on the beds."

Thomas sat on the bed in front of Gerard, Robert was seated in front of Lionel and Marco, Mario and Marc waited nearby.

"Okay, so it's a quick procedure," explained Gerard. "We'll inject the serum into your spine and it'll do its thing."

"It won't hurt, right?" asked Marco.

Gerard held up the large needle as he pushed out any air bubbles and replied, "Just a pinch."

At the same time, Lionel said, "Quite a bit."

In order to distract himself from the image of the large needle, Thomas asked Gerard, "Was the possibility of us coming back above ground really so dangerous that H.A.L.A. had to...?"

Gerard rubbed a sterilized swab on Thomas' spine to prepare for the injection before answering, "Yes, unfortunately. Many lycanthropes from several packs went underground thirty years ago and eventually became one pack. There were two reasons for this. Firstly: a history lesson. Anytime before forty-two years ago, lycanthropes had virtually no human rights. They were hunted down like animals and nothing was done about it. But after they rose up and fought for their rights, things finally started to change.

"Lycanthropes can do everything humans can provided they're registered and don't harm humans. But some lycanthropes couldn't trust us humans anymore nor could they cope with the transformations so some of them that were still alive went underground. I'm told they knew the risks. They wouldn't be allowed to come back above. See, all the years spent without transforming would lead to a massive build-up of animalistic urges which would lead to them becoming feral."

"You keep saying that. Feral. What does it mean?"

"Usually, when one of us transforms, we're aware of our actions but it's like we have this uncontrollable need to run, howl, hunt small animals. The next morning, we remember it all. But a feral lycanthrope, those are truly dangerous. They're more vicious, they'll even hunt people. Ferals who've been caught claim not to remember anything from the night before and we think it's because the lycanthrope takes complete control," explained Marc.

Robert, Marco and Thomas exchanged worried glances. The trio were alarmed at this news as they could not remember the previous night. They knew then that receiving this suppressor was the right thing to do, before they turn feral and lose themselves.

"Of course, it isn't just you guys who run risk of turning feral - any lycanthrope can. Packless lycanthropes are more likely to turn feral. We aren't really sure why, but we reckon it's more psychological than biological in that case," Gerard said.

"Why wouldn't they - ow, ow, that hurts," Thomas winced at the sting of the injection. "Why wouldn't they tell us this?" his question was more directed at Robert and Marco, who was nervously watching the injection procedure. For a brief second, the hair on Thomas arms grew out in thick patches before receding again. Robert's mouth fell open due to a sudden elongation of his teeth before they went back to normal.

"Do you feel any different?" asked Marco, squinting as he studied Thomas' arms.

"I feel fine. We're done?" asked Thomas and waited for confirmation before putting his shirt back on.

"Yes, that's all. Marc will help you with transforming later, once you're all done. As for why they didn't tell you, we don't have those answers. It's possible they just wanted to leave the curse behind and thought it was best to keep it secret." The frown on Gerard's face showed just what he thought of that approach as he picked up the third needle. "Come, Marco. Last but not least."

"Just a pinch, my ass," commented Marco afterwards with a glare at Gerard, which only brought a smile to his face.

"Come, you guys should see where you'll be sleeping during your stay. And after, we can eat. It's been a long day."

"Maybe we should do that the other way around," suggested Lionel. "Food first. Priorities."

***

Hours later in the fields on B.A.R.S.A's premises, when the moon hung high in the sky, the four lycanthropes bathed in its light. Like before, they felt mesmerized by its glow and boundless energy coursed through them, however their thoughts remained clear. Their bones didn’t so much as click.

“Will every full moon make us feel like this one?” asked Robert. His increased hearing was difficult to adjust to and he was almost tempted to just whisper but Marc had assured them earlier that they would adjust to it.

“Yes,” replied Marc. He really wanted to take their minds off of the devastating news from earlier. “Once you’ve taken the suppressor, the full moon isn’t a curse any longer. It’s a blessing. Let’s transform and you’ll see what I mean.”

They realized that Marc was correct. This was unlike before. The moon still sung to them and the shift came easily and once they did, they saw the world in a wonderfully soft blue tint. The smell of the nature around them clung in their noses, fresh and vibrant. They could hear Mario, Gerard and Lionel talking as they watched from the veranda. It was almost overwhelming how heightened their senses were.

Thomas looked at Robert, his black fur shone wondrously in the moonlight. It was odd trying to relate this naturally vicious looking creature with the man he knew and loved but Robert turned to him and Thomas was pleased to see his eyes were the same brilliant shade of blue.

Thomas opened his mouth to speak but his snout couldn't form any of the words and it all came out as garbled grunts instead. Marc perked up and the amusement could be seen in his eyes. He beckoned them all forward before falling to all fours and galloping off through the sprawling gardens. The trio looked to each other, unsure, before doing the same. They found that, just as shifting had, running this way felt like second nature.

The powerful muscles in their new bodies propelled them forward with lightning speed. Marc swerved through the trees like an expert and the three pushed themselves to match his pace. Before too long, Thomas bumped into a tree and was winded. The other three stopped to check on him but his face split in a smile that had too many sharp teeth. Eager to keep up with the distraction, Marc kept running and the trio kept chasing after him. Even if it was only temporary, their grief was momentarily pushed aside.

Meanwhile, the humans were still seated at B.A.R.S.A. talking about their concerns.

"Do you think they'll adjust well? It's got to be a lot for them to swallow," said Mario.

Gerard shrugged. "Well, they'll have to."

Lionel gave him a look, and Gerard raised his hands in surrender, before responding to Mario. "We'll help them as best we can. It can't be easy but everything gets easier with time. I wonder how they'd feel about visiting a therapist."

"Can't do that if H.A.L.A. gets away with the cover-up, and I didn't want to say it earlier, but that's looking likely. We provided the underground pack with anything they asked for - the sort of things that they couldn't get underground - despite the fact that they didn't pay any taxes and that's why most people didn't know about them. Imagine how much shit that would've stirred up when human-supernatural relations are already so tense."

"I doubt this whole..." Mario waved his hands. "Situation will help with that. Other packs will lose their heads when they hear about what we did."

"Hey," Leo said softly. "You weren't involved. You tried to stop them."

"No," protested Mario. "I was there, at the caverns. But I didn't stop them. I just ran away and what's worse, I -" he stopped short, unable to finish the sentence. He bit his lip, begging that they wouldn't ask him about his abrupt stop.

Lionel and Gerard shared a look and Leo knew Gerard wanted to push, to ask questions, so he spoke before that happened. "That's why H.A.L.A. will do everything they can to prevent this from coming out. They'll want Marco, Thomas and Robert to slip quietly into society as regular lycanthropes."

"And you won't try to expose them?"

"We _should_. People deserve the truth, and they," said Gerard while pointing towards the forest. "Deserve justice for everyone they lost. People can't just get away with doing whatever just because they're in positions of power."

"Doing that might just start a war, Geri."

"Good! There are still unsanctioned hunters out there but people just aren't talking about it. Maybe a war will change things."

Leo frowned. "You don't mean that."

Gerard deflated. "I know, I know. It's just that there are so many lycanthropes, or even entire packs, that get killed by the hunters. What's worse, it doesn't even make the news. Why? Because nobody wants to acknowledge this issue with the hunters."

Leo nodded. "Fetch us something to drink?" He knew sometimes a walk could help Gerard calm down and he was clearly agitated.

When Gerard was back inside, the two fell into a silence that wasn't entirely comfortable but Leo seemed content with not speaking so Mario zipped his lips as well. Mario was troubled, unsure if he should tell them the truth of his role in the situation they found themselves in. He didn't want them to hate him, but he knew they deserved the truth.

Gerard came back, three soft drink cans in hand. "Hey, I just remembered, Mario, you might be out of a job. You know, we could help with that. It wouldn't be the same sort of work obviously, but I'm sure we could find you something. Three cheers for nepotism."

As he sat down, the four lycanthropes broke through the tree-line in a race towards them that had Mario fearing that the suppressor had failed somehow before they slowed to a stop, tongues lolling out their mouths as they panted. On all fours they stood taller than the seated men as they weaved between their chairs, tails brushing them as a sort of greeting. It was late in the evening by this time - almost midnight.

Marc led the lycanthropes to just beyond the reach of the awning and they sat under the glow of the full moon. First, it was Marc who tilted his head back towards the moon and howled, leading the chorus of the ritualistic song. The other three, as they had all night, followed suit. It was like a chilling choir. Goosebumps broke out across Mario's skin at the harmonious howls. He'd only heard the panicked yelps of a pack on the run but this was like a song, however, the sad undertones of loss could be heard. He couldn't tear his eyes from the lycanthropes.

"This is my favourite part, too, despite the circumstances," whispered Gerard and Leo merely hummed in reply.

Mario wasn't sure how much time had lapsed, but the lycanthropes stopped eventually and made their way back to them. Marc settled against Gerard's legs while Thomas and Robert's brown and black forms respectively, huddled together at the edge of the veranda. Marco looked around and huffed a breath as he seemed to decide something. He walked off to the side and settled in on his own.

On the other side of the veranda, Robert nuzzled Thomas. That night had been a brand new experience for him but it couldn't overshadow the grief he felt. He didn't know what the future held for them, or for Marco, but he was certain they would make it through and return to their home again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the third chapter. I know it seems like the whole genocide (or should I call it a massacre?) seems like a side thought right now, but the trio are kind of in a state of shock about it at this point. It'll be expanded on in the coming chapters.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added another chapter because I realized that chapter 8 wouldn't be enough to fully wrap things up. I'm halfway (ahem - quarter way) through writing chapter 8 so the number of chapters will not be increasing from here on out. Anyway, Enjoy!

In the following days, the trio didn't see much of Gerard or Marc-Andre. Lionel was around in the beginning, performing tests and making sure their bodies were adjusting well - not only to the suppressor but also to the surface's thinner air, however, he had other patients as well. Mario was still under suspension and, with nothing better to do, he mostly hung around B.A.R.S.A. Gerard cautioned them against wandering beyond the facility premises while the meetings were still in progress as it might be dangerous for them before any decisions were made to ensure their citizenship and safety. So to pass the time, Mario usually watched them get used to their lycanthropic bodies.

A few times, in the cafeteria, they'd catch sight of some of the other lycanthropes living at the facility, but these were usually lone wolves who bore the scars of a lost pack and were reluctant to talk, no matter how encouraging or persistent Thomas was. Mario told them lone wolves were sad, emotionally wounded creatures as their kind wasn't meant to live on their own. They would either turn feral or recover and keep soldiering on through life. Given that B.A.R.S.A. offered them a safe place to be, the latter has become more common. They found that they could relate to that.

It was almost a week since they began their stay at the B.A.R.S.A. facility and the four of them were on their way back inside for lunch when Thomas caught hold of Marco's arm. Marco turned back to face him with his eyebrows raised in curiosity. Mario and Robert briefly stopped too, but Robert caught Thomas' eyes and understood and thus, Robert encouraged Mario to keep walking with him.

"Marco, this shouldn't have taken so long but with everything, I haven't had a chance to say sorry to you yet."

"What for?" he asked with an inquisitive eyebrow raised.

Thomas met his eyes head-on. "I've been thinking...and you were right. What you said before we came up here - that I just keep going and going, while other people get hurt -"

Marco shook his head with a sigh. "Thomas -"

"- and it happened like you said, people - our friends and family - died. So, I'm sorry."

"Then I should apologize too -" here Thomas made a confused face and Marco continued, "but I won't. I know that I could've tried harder to stop you and Robert from coming here. I probably wouldn't have been able to convince you but I think I could've spoken sense into Robert. Either way, don't be so selfish as to assume that it's all on you, like I haven't been losing sleep as well. It's the three of us, we're in this together now."

"...and Gerard, Leo and Marc. _And Mario_."

"Don't know why you're emphasizing his name," Marco muttered while averting his eyes. "They don't understand though. They've lived here their whole lives, haven't lost what we lost. Don't get me wrong - I'm grateful. We'd have been truly fucked without them."

"We'd be dead without them," whispered Thomas.

Marco nodded in agreement. "Tell me honestly, what do you think will happen with Ramos and his buddies?"

"I'm not too sure. It goes without saying that they should be punished, but I don't want to get my hopes up. Everything works so differently up here."

"It wouldn't be fair though, if they get to go home to their families every night and carry on living their lives when everyone underground died."

"I know - it's frustrating! But we can't do anything about it - just hope that the-powers-that-be listen to Gerard and Marc."

Marco nodded his agreement but his jaw was clenched so Thomas changed the topic. "So... _Mario_?"

***

Later in the evening, they were unwinding outside in the summer air while not doing much in particular when a haggard-looking Marc and annoyed Gerard approached them. The four of them rose from their seats in anticipation. Gerard and Marc's body language told them it couldn't be good news and that was the last thing they wanted to hear.

"So... the meetings are finally over and there's good news and bad news," began Gerard as he rubbed a hand over his face.

"No punishment?" asked Robert with a frown, though he already knew the answer.

Gerard nodded solemnly and his eyebrows furrowed even more. "The slimy bastards are getting away with it by saying that your pack wanted to come to the surface without authorization. And like we guessed, with the site cleaned up, nobody could prove without a doubt that it wasn't you three who opened the door."

"But we told you -" began Thomas.

"We know," continued Marc, speaking over him. "that the door was broken by a lycanthrope that we don't know, but when we mentioned this, everyone looked at _me_ like I did it."

"So that's it then?" asked Marco, clearly aggravated. "There's nothing you can do?"

"There's nothing anyone can do, Marco. Guys, I'm sorry."

"What was the good news?" Thomas questioned.

"Oh, right. All three of you have been cleared of suspicion so we'll be able to get you guys official documents and before you know it, you'll be out of here and into the world as registered lycanthropes," said Gerard.

It was a step towards the trio's independence and being able to blend in with the surface world, but having heard the news of H.A.L.A's pardon, they weren't exactly in a celebratory mood. Knowing that there wasn't anything they could do to erase their upset feelings, Marc tugged on Gerard's sleeve until he followed him back inside.

"Remember Leo said he wanted to speak with us," muttered Marc.

"Yeah." Gerard nodded with a sigh. "Let's go hear him out."

Inside, the two met up with Leo in the office that he hardly ever used - he really didn't care much for the corporate side of their jobs. He was looking through some manila files with a troubled expression on his face.

"Leo," said Gerard, as a greeting.

He looked up and waited for them both to take a seat before speaking. "How were the meetings?"

"Bad enough to possibly drive me to alcoholism," replied Gerard and they all shared a little laugh.

"I'm going for a run later," said Marc-Andre. "If the corporate guys call me a dog one more time then... I'll have to come up with a decent threat. But anyway, what's in those files? Bad news?"

Leo almost sighed. "No. The files are just Thomas, Marco and Robert's physical test results. Their bodies are adjusting just fine but as I was conducting the tests, I remembered what you said, Geri, about H.A.L.A. tracking them."

"They have trackers in them?" asked Gerard, the beginnings of a frown on his face.

This time Leo did sigh. "No, they don't."

A silence fell over them as Gerard and Marc let the news wash over them. Marc spoke next. "Then...how did H.A.L.A. know they were here? They couldn't have had scouts conducting surveillance of the caverns otherwise Robert, Thomas and Marco would've been killed immediately."

"No! Leo, you don't think..." Gerard trailed off. Marc thought it over for a moment before he too connected the dots and his eyes widened in shock.

"I do think," confirmed Lionel seriously. "It's the only thing that makes sense."

"You think Mario's a mole?"

"No, I don't. H.A.L.A. have already gotten what they wanted. There'd be no reason to send in a green recruit on an undercover job but I do think he had something to do with Ramos finding out in the first place."

"How do you know he's green? Leo, you hacked them?" Marc wasn't entirely surprised. It wasn't exactly news that Lionel was a genius.

He only shrugged with a tiniest hint of pink at the tips of his large ears. "I only wanted to know."

"Okay, so what do you think happened? Mario told Ramos about them coming up from the underground and then what? Changed his mind when H.A.L.A. started with this massacre nonsense?" asked Gerard.

Leo nodded. "It's the most logical conclusion. Now probably isn't the right time to tell them - too much bad news at once. And Mario doesn't seem to mean them any harm so it couldn't hurt for now."

Gerard's lip turned down in a frown. "They deserve to know, no matter what."

"Of course," Marc agreed. "And we'll tell them but not right _now_ , Geri. We've just dropped a bomb on them and they're lives are already so unsettled. But we will tell them."

Gerard still looked upset but nodded along before deflating in his chair. "Man, I could use a drink."

***

In their shared room, Robert and Thomas lay facing each other. These quiet moments between them were a peaceful break from the recent changes. At times, it felt as though these moments kept them both from coming apart at the seams. Robert's finger was tracing along Thomas' cheek and he closed his eyes as he leant into the soothing touch. However, given recent events, Thomas couldn't stay quiet for too long.

"I can't believe they got away with it. It's not fair."

"Gerard warned us that this might happen. It isn't fair but it's what happened, unfortunately."

Thomas sighed heavily. "They just - they deserved better. But maybe now we can go back and say goodbye."

Robert nodded. "It'll take a lot of cleaning up but I think, after some time, we can stay there again. I've missed home so much these past few days."

"Huh?" Thomas blinked and tilted his head as he was uncertain if he heard that correctly, pulling away from Robert's touch in the process. "You still want to live underground?"

Robert nodded. "Where else would we live?"

"Here? There's nothing wrong with living here on the surface. And Gerard just told us that we'll be receiving our surface identifications and all that. Why would you want to go back?" Thomas sat up and repositioned himself so he was facing Robert.

"It's home. We said we were going to go back, Thomas," replied Robert as he also sat up.

"That was before H.A.L.A... Lewy, we can't go back. Nothing is there, nobody is there."

"I know but that doesn't mean it isn't home. Besides, we don't have any money, we didn't learn the same sort of things that they know." Robert pointed at the door in reference to everyone living on the surface. "We can't even do basic things like drive."

"So we'll learn. We can't go back underground. Every day will be a reminder of what we lost."

"So you just want to run away from it all - forget they ever even existed, forget where we came from?"

"Of course not! I'll never forget, you know that. But there's no need to be afraid of the unknown."

"I'm not afraid."

"What then?"

"Robert, I know you aren't the smartest but we can't exactly continue the pack. We don't have the necessary biology for that, though I'm not against trying."

Robert shook his head and rolled his eyes at Thomas' attempt at humour. "You're ignoring my most important points. Do you honestly think we can live in a hospital until we're old and grey?"

"Well, no but Gerard said they'll help us. I don't doubt that, I mean, they've helped us this much," insisted Thomas. 

Robert fell back against the pillows and rubbed his face with his hands. "I miss home, Thommy."

"I do, too. I just think that we should make the most of our situation. We can't run from this new side of ourselves, Lewy. And Marco, we don't know how he feels about this. But we won't forget, we can... I don't know, move out when we're ready and go stay back home. It's close enough to the city."

"You'd do that for me?"

"I'd do anything."

Robert raised his hand to Thomas' cheek, bringing him close enough to drop a kiss on his lips. Thomas had other ideas in mind and deepened the kiss, moving over Robert's body.

A sharp, sudden banging on their door interrupted them. Thomas rolled his eyes before moving away, while Robert rose to answer the door. There stood Mario, eyes wide with worry as he scanned the room.

"Marco's not with you?"

Robert frowned, looking at Thomas and, for an irrational moment, his eyes swept through the room as if making sure Marco wasn't lurking in a corner though he knew he was not. "No. Why? I thought he was with you?"

Mario shook his head. "I thought maybe he was here talking with you guys after the news earlier. What are the chances that he just went outside to clear his head?"

"That's probably what happened. Don't worry too much."

Mario nodded with a tight-lipped smile. "And you? You guys are okay?"

"Hanging in there," replied Robert in a clipped tone. "Anything else?"

Mario shook his head and only just seemed to realize he might have been interrupting something and he flushed a little. "Sorry. Goodnight."

"You didn't have to scare him away, Lewy," said Thomas jokingly after Robert closed the door.

"Well, we were in the middle of something," responded Robert with a naughty smile as he settled back on the bed.

"Do you think Marco's really okay?"

Robert ran his hands up Thomas' legs, not that he needed much convincing to part his thighs and Robert needed even less convincing to make the space his home.

"He's a big boy. I'm sure he's okay," replied Robert as he bent over Thomas' body, lips pressing gently to his neck.

"Are you sure because -"

"Thomas. Do you really want to discuss Marco right now?"

Thomas laughed. "How can I when you're trying so very _hard_ to be tempting?"

***

Marco originally didn't have a destination in mind when he took off. All he knew was that he needed to get away from everyone for some time. The anger he felt at the injustice of the world had him in a daze.

As he came up to the front of the underground entrance, he saw two men standing there dressed in pristine white uniforms. Despite not having transformed, he could feel a growl rumble in his throat at the sight of them. Red-hot anger ignited inside him and he made quick work of undressing. As he did, the leaves beneath his feet crunched and the sound echoed loudly in the quiet night. At the persistent noise, the agents crept forward slowly in his direction. A part of him felt wary at the sight of their guns, but the fury simmering inside him rose to a boil. He stepped out of the shadows with a snarl on his face. The moment the men saw him they stepped forward too, shouting out warnings.

"You're one of the dogs from the underground pack that escaped. You should run back to B.A.R.S.A. where you belong before we put you down," sneered the one on the right. The unkind smile on his face raised the hair on Marco's neck.

" _That's_ where I belong," replied Marco heatedly as he pointed at the gaping arch behind them. "And that's where I would be if you hadn't killed them all."

"We were under orders," the blonde on the left replied. He seemed the much calmer of the two.

"They were innocent!"

Marco let the transformation sweep through his body. His legs burst forth like a spring as he launched himself towards the man on the left. He had a thought that his claws were begging for blood and for vengeance but he ignored it. He barreled into the man instead, knocking him off his feet in the process. His sensitive ears picked up on the crack of his skull hitting a large rock. He'd just turned to the second man when he recoiled at a loud bang. He staggered backwards with a yelp at the sharp pain in his right arm. His nose could pick up on the distinct scent of blood.

"That was a warning shot -"

Before he could finish speaking, Marco pounced and the large paw of his uninjured arm encircled the man's throat. Slobber dripped from his fangs as he growled at the man. He could smell the fear radiating off of him in waves and reveled in it. He _should_ be afraid.

As easily as picking up a doll, Marco lifted him off the ground and he watched on as the man started to choke. The pitiful sound of the man's wheezing and coughing was music to Marco's ears. In his state of blind rage, Marco dug his claws into the man's neck. Blood burst forth and spilt onto his blonde fur, staining it red. The harsh, metallic smell hit him again and Marco's hand unclenched.

He could only watch as the man crumbled like a house of cards and choked on his own blood. Marco stumbled backwards until he tripped over the unconscious agent behind him. As the heartbeat of the bleeding man slowed and then stopped completely, he stared on in shock at the growing puddle. He could still subconsciously hear the heartbeat of the blonde man, though it was slow.

Marco wasn't sure if he would die too, and he wasn't sure if he wanted him to. His stomach heaved violently as his dinner made a reappearance in a less appealing form. On unsteady legs, he ran from the cave, deeper into the darkness of the forest. His nose could still pick up on the smell even from a distance so he hastily transformed back, knowing that his human nose, while still enhanced, was less receptive.

"Oh God! What have I done?" he asked himself with a shaky voice. In the moonlight, he studied his red glove with glassy eyes. Further up his right arm was the bullet wound. It still pained badly, like nothing he'd ever felt before, and he clutched it with his left hand to try to stop the bleeding.

His mind was racing with conflicting thoughts of vengeance and remorse, justice and mercy. He didn't know what would happen to him if anyone found out. Gerard had told them that lycanthropes still weren't treated equally to humans - he might be executed. The thought both troubled him and angered him, after all H.A.L.A. had done this - worse even - and yet they did not even get a slap on the hand. He snarled and slammed his fist against the trunk of the tree.

"What should it matter? I've killed one, maybe two, of them but they killed dozens of us. But it does matter. They have families, probably. People will notice if they've gone missing, won't they? What happens then? Should I just hide them in the cave and pretend I was never here? No, but in the daylight, the H.A.L.A. guys will see the blood on the - shit! What am I going to do? They're going to kill me, maybe even Robert and Thomas. Maybe - maybe Mario could help. No, he probably _knows_ them. I'll just be putting him through the same thing H.A.L.A. put us through - wouldn't be fair."

Marco continued talking himself further into a panic. He wasn't sure what to do but he knew he couldn't just leave them out in the open. This was murder but he didn't have the same privileges as the H.A.L.A. agents. He had no license to kill. He wouldn't be given the benefit of the doubt. He needed a plan.

"Okay, Marco, just think. I don't think I could fetch Geri, Marc or Leo right now considering they might've gone home - beside we weren't supposed to leave B.A.R.S.A. and Mario's not an option either because he most likely worked with those guys. What's worse, there'll probably be new agents here tomorrow, so I can't just leave them lying in the open. They'll know it was one of us considering we would have the most reason to hurt them.

"What if I just ran away? No, that would be dumb. It's their job to hunt lycanthropes down. Besides, that wouldn't stop them from hurting Lewy and Thomas."

He sighed as he dragged his left hand through his hair, unknowingly leaving smears of red amongst the blonde. His wound was still bleeding, though not as bad as before. As he stared at the injury, he kept talking to himself out loud.

Reaching a hopeful conclusion, he arose and returned to his abandoned clothing. His hurt right arm did him no favours as he struggled back into the clothing. Once that was done, he trudged back to the cave entrance. The moon had moved, bathing the two agents in a dim light. The dead agent's face was stuck in a horrified expression that Marco did his utmost best to ignore.

He knelt next to the blonde and checked whether he was still unconscious or dead. He was still breathing. "Good. Just keep sleeping. That'll only help my case."

He took a deep breath and stood up again and moved on unsteady legs towards the bloody man just a metre or two away.

"You said earlier that it was a warning shot. Does that mean you didn't have permission to kill us? I sure fucking hope so. But let me ask you this...Carlos Casemiro -" he read off the man's identification card, "-If it was a warning shot, why'd you shoot me twice?"

As he spoke, he had picked up the gun near the Casemiro's hand. It rattled in his unsteady hands and he took a deep breath to prepare himself for what would come next. He bit his lip to help bear with the oncoming pain and shot himself in the thigh. He cursed colourfully at the pain before placing the gun in the same position it was in before.

Transforming once more, his now tattered clothes fell like autumn leaves around him. His keen lycanthropic eyes surveyed the scene around him. With the way he had set everything up, he could retell the events of that night.

He hadn't meant for this when he'd left B.A.R.S.A. earlier that night. He hadn't meant for any of this when they'd made the decision to surface from the underground, however, this is what happened. It was too late for regrets now - the only way was forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. Yeah. Hope you enjoyed the fourth chapter. So, I know Thomas is teasing Marco about Mario but there isn't going to be any Götzeus in this fic, just btw, it's only friendly teasing. Also, I'd be interested to know whether you agree with Robert or Thomas about whether they should live under or above ground.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not quite sure if anybody reads this fic, but if you are reading this as I post then sorry for the late update. Anyway, enjoy!

The sun was only beginning to peak over the horizon but there was already a buzz of commotion in the forest.

Sergio sighed for the umpteenth time as he pulled up to the location of the underground caverns. He had decided that, in order to further the investigation as to which lycanthrope or possibly lycanthropes, were responsible for breaking down the door to the underground caverns, agents had been designated a schedule to do guarding. Never had he imagined that this decision would leave him with two bodies on his hands.

His superiors were against the investigation, after all, they wanted to wipe their hands clean of anything to do with the clusterfuck of a situation the massacre had been, but Sergio was persistent, if nothing else. If the underground lycanthropes were to be believed, then the ones who were still underground had been innocent. He couldn't shake the feeling that he owed them this much.

He trekked through the underbush to the scene of the crime, stepping carefully so as to avoid disturbing the tracks. From what he could see, there were only six distinct prints, meaning three people - Toni and Carlos plus one other lycanthrope. The murderer. Given recent events, it wouldn't be too difficult to find the perpetrator.

Other agents were milling about, taking photos of evidence and the like. Toni, after it was determined that he wasn't dead at the scene, just unresponsive, was rushed to hospital. Carlos, however, in order to preserve the crime scene, was still soaking in a pool of his own blood. Over the years, in this line of work, Sergio had lost many friends but it never got easier seeing the carnage that lycanthropes left behind.

***

Marc-Andre arrived at B.A.R.S.A. promptly, with the weight of having to tell the trio about Mario's actions heavy on his mind. However, his thoughts stopped short at the H.A.L.A. vehicle in the underground parking lot. This in and of itself was not entirely unusual, given that some of their patients weren't exactly on the right side of the law but he had an uneasy feeling in his gut.

Marc turned when he smelt a familiar scent. "Leo, good morning. We have some unwelcome guests."

Leo nodded with a frown. "Yes, unfortunately. And on the morning we agreed to tell the others about Mario, no less. How long do you think it'll take until Geri gets here?"

Marc huffed a laugh, knowing that punctuality wasn't one of Gerard's specialties. "Twenty minutes."

"That's generous," Leo joked as he pressed the elevator button to go up. "Will you bring them to my office while I clock in?"

Marc nodded agreeably. He thought that perhaps it was a good thing that Gerard would be late. He loved Gerard but discretion wasn't in his vocabulary and this was a delicate situation. The recreational area where he would begin his search for the trio was above the hospital so Leo left the elevator first, sharing a nod with Marc as he did.

Reaching the common area, Marc immediately noticed that it was fuller than usual. With news of the suppressor circulating, there were more and more lycanthropes stopping by to receive it and some stayed for a free meal too.

He frowned when he couldn't spot them anywhere - no matter how far he walked. They weren't in the cafeteria, their rooms or the indoor garden. He doubted they'd have made a stop at the psychologists wing as they hadn't thus far despite his advice. He'd try sniffing them out but there were just so many lycanthropes that it would be impossible. He was about to return to the elevator to search outside when he received a text from Leo. His eyes widened as he read it and he rushed to the lower levels of the building.

He didn't need to look for the specific room number Leo had texted him once he arrived on the correct floor. He immediately turned to the room in which he could hear a little commotion - not enough to draw the attention of humans but relatively easy for his enhanced hearing to pick up on.

"Oh, Marc, you're here," Leo greeted in relief.

"What's _he_ doing here now?" Sergio asked with mild annoyance. "This was meant to be a private interview. This is an official investigation."

"What's going on?" Marc asked instead of answering. He could tell the casual dismissal was pissing Sergio off but that wasn't really where his concern lay at that point.

Marco was laying in a hospital bed and Marc could see that the portion of his right arm, which was above the blanket, was bandaged. Robert and Thomas were sat in the seats beside the bed, both with expressions of concern. Marco had a few signs of stress on his face as well.

"This isn't up for discussion. As I said, this is an official investigation. You two," said Sergio as he pointed at Leo and Marc. "need to leave. As a matter of fact, the only one I need to speak to is Marco Reus."

"He's my patient -" began Leo but Sergio steamrolled over him.

"And he's my suspect. I call rank. If you don't like it, take it up with my superiors. I have my orders. Now, as I said, you all need to leave."

"We won't leave Marco alone with you after what you did to the rest of our pack. We all _see_ the gun you have strapped to your hip, Ramos," protested Thomas.

"I'm not going to shoot him, or anyone of you," replied Sergio before he turned back to Lionel. "And I shouldn't have to justify myself. This is serious. There's been a murder and it's my job to find out who did it so it's either I question him here or I cuff him and take him with me back to H.A.L.A. headquarters and question him there."

Realistically, Marc knew that Sergio wouldn't pull any of the usual crap right here in B.A.R.S.A. unless of course, he'd been ordered to do so. If someone had been murdered then it was a real possibility that Marco - who appeared to be the prime suspect - would be put to death. That was the law after all.

"Alright then," Leo agreed. After all, at that point, Sergio hadn't done anything untoward and, moreover, impeding his investigation was actually illegal. Another thing Leo was curious about was why Sergio had come alone. He knew that H.A.L.A. usually worked in pairs at the least to compensate for the fact that their targets were much, much stronger than them.

"What? We're not leaving Marco with him," said Robert.

"It's okay," assured Marc. "If they're still investigating that means he won't do anything that he shouldn't. We'll be right outside."

"Right outside the door?" Robert asked and Marc nodded for confirmation.

Marco remained quiet, all the while picking at a loose string on the blanket. Robert hesitated before looking back at Sergio followed by Leo and lastly at Thomas. Thomas grabbed hold of his hand and nodded at him before leading him outside. Before he crossed the threshold, Robert cast a distrusting look at Sergio. Leo and Marc left next.

They quite literally stood right outside the door, enough so that he, Thomas and Robert wouldn't even have to put in effort to hear what was going on inside.

Inside the room, Marco still hadn't met Sergio's eyes. The latter hadn't taken a seat, rather he stood at the foot of the bed and looked down at Marco.

"I think we both know what brought me here so at this point, all this is just a formality. So tell me what happened last night?" Sergio asked .

Marco hesitated before speaking, "I was here with everyone who's outside plus Gerard."

"The whole night?" prompted Sergio.

And Marco shook his head in reply. "No. Geri told us about your pardon and I was upset so I went for a walk."

"Just you? What about your friends outside?"

Marco shook his head again and insisted, "No, I was alone."

"And then?" asked Sergio. He was getting impatient with Marco's frequent breaks in the story. They both knew the truth. Sergio could see it in Marco's eyes and he just wanted him to admit it - to admit what he'd done.

"I decided to go back home for a bit. I needed something familiar and I thought it would make me feel better. When I got there, two of your men were guarding the entrance. I don't know what for. Then... I don't know. It all happened so quickly. He shot me. Twice. In my arm and, here, in my leg. And then - well, I..."

"You killed one man and put the other man in a coma," Sergio finished for him.

"I - what?" Marco looked up finally, in shock. "A coma?"

Sergio nodded gravely. "Yes and there's no telling when Toni will recover. The head trauma was severe and he didn't receive treatment soon enough. So you admit to murdering Carlos Casemiro?"

Marco averted his eyes again. "That was his name? I didn't know."

"Yes and you murdered him?"

"I was afraid," Marco's voice trembled here. The memories of it all came flashing back - what he had done. "I thought he would kill me after what you all had done to the my pack. I-I thought I was next."

"Really?" The tone of Sergio's voice implied he didn't believe Marco. "You thought you would be killed so you decided to fight instead of run for your life?"

"Yes! What do you want me to say, huh? That I did it for fun? For revenge? I've already told you the truth." Marco was clutching at the blanket with his left hand now, creasing it harshly.

Sergio took note of this before meeting Marco's eyes again. "More blood was found a couple metres from the bodies. Whose blood was that?"

"Mine," confirmed Marco. "After...everything I panicked. I was afraid of what would happen to me. I know that my kind are just seen as dogs and so I wasn't sure what to do but after some time, I came back here to the hospital and got treated."

"You didn't think we'd come after you?"

"I knew you would," Marco snapped. "It's your _job_ and you would get your precious _orders_. But I also know that I'm not guilty. I didn't take the first shot."

This, at least, was true. Marco hadn't drawn first blood. Well, perhaps he had the previous night, but the litres of blood of the underground pack that had been spilt - that was the first shot. That was the catalyst.

"You said 'it all happened so quickly'. Are you sure you're remembering everything correctly? Casemiro fired at you first?"

Marco nodded resolutely.

"How close were you to him when he fired at you?"

"What?" Marco was unprepared for a question like this. He expected more pressing about what he was doing there in the first place, or why he'd thought it was okay to kill a human. But Sergio - he looked tired, whereas Marco expected to see the raging bull he'd been at the confrontation at Mario's house.

Sergio repeated the question and then added, "I assume the strips of clothing we found at the scene were yours and they were quite close to Casemiro's body. Much too close if you were really as afraid as you said you were."

"Yeah, it was my clothes. Obviously. Maybe the wind blew it closer," he replied tensely. "...It all got ripped up when I transformed so it would be lighter pieces of cloth. I don't know."

"Ah, right, the wind. Okay. Well, if I have any other questions for you at any other point, I'll find you here?"

"It's not as if I'll be going back underground."

Sergio just nodded then hesitated as if he wanted to say something before shaking his head minutely and leaving at a brisk pace. Immediately after he left, everyone else filed in with questions burning their tongues.

Marco didn't really know where to begin explaining it to them nor did he want to so instead he just said, "Well, you heard what I told Ramos. That's what happened."

"You - you killed one of the H.A.L.A. guys?" asked Thomas with a serious look on his face that Marco was seeing more and more these days.

Marco nodded but found he couldn't meet any of their piercing gazes.

They all seemed to be at a loss for words.

"This is why you didn't tell us what happened to you, Marco? It was H.A.L.A. that did this to you?"

"Yes but don't worry, I got him back," Marco's laugh was barely a puff of air and the joke fell extremely flat.

"Marco. This is serious. Lycanthropes who kill humans are put to death. That's the law," said Leo. Robert and Thomas shot him twin alarmed looks at this information.

Marco clenched his left hand into a fist. "I figured as much. But I - what else was I supposed to do?"

Marc sighed. "It helps that it was in self-defense. I don't know how much it'll help but it could count for something."

"Was it in self-defense, Marco?" Leo asked gently, moving so that Marco would have no choice but to meet his dark eyes.

Marco hadn't wanted to tell them anything. Better he lie and spare them the entire truth of the situation. He'd carry the burden of his actions on his own. The revenge he'd taken - although the satisfaction was hollow - would be his own. But, looking at Leo, it looked as though he knew the truth. Or was Marco just being paranoid? Either way, everyone was waiting for an answer.

They all turned to the door as it opened abruptly, almost alleviating the tense atmosphere. Gerard's tall frame walked in and he put his cellphone in his pocket.

"Leo, why are we meeting here instead of - Marco? What happened to you?"

Marco almost sighed in relief as Gerard marched in with Mario following closely behind him. If one thing was for sure, it's that Gerard's personality could fill a room, which would almost certainly save him from answering Leo's probing question.

Marc and Leo looked at each other in mild irritation, this had not been what they discussed the night before. They had planned to break the news to the trio gently and then allow them to decide if they wanted to see Mario again or not, but Gerard had a tendency to believe he knew best and do things by his own rules sometimes. Not to mention, given Marco's actions last night, having Mario there at the hospital with them wasn't the best thing.

Mario stopped short at the sight of Marco. "Did H.A.L.A. do this?"

"Are you hurt?" asked Marco, concern making him disregard both Mario and Gerard's questions.

Mario did look ill indeed, his eyes puffy and his cheeks pale, but that was the product of his guilt. Earlier that morning, Gerard pulled up on his driveway and confronted him about what he'd done, what he'd told Ramos. Mario had no other option than to come clean about his misdeeds. Gerard assured him that he understood the position Mario was in, and that he wasn't judging him but that he needed to tell Marco, Thomas and Robert the whole truth. So there he stood, biting his lip and wringing his hands anxiously.

"Mario's just fine," replied Gerard to fill the loaded silence. "He just has something he needs to say."

All their eyes turned to Mario, overly curious about what he had to say. Lionel wished Gerard hadn't brought him here so soon. He doubted this would end well - after all, how much more bad news could they all take? He'd never dealt with such complicated patients.

"I - uh." Mario cleared his throat before soldiering on. "You guys remember when you first surfaced and we met at the food truck? I was - am - a H.A.L.A. agent. I thought the underground pack wanted to come back up with no authorization so after you guys left I...told Sergio about you guys and that's how he knew. That's why..."

A heavy silence followed the confession before Thomas replied, "You told them? Why would you do that?"

"I thought you had bad intentions. I didn't know. You have to believe me."

Robert stood up. "How could you have thought we had bad intentions? We left when you told us to. Does that sound like something dangerous people would do?"

Mario averted his eyes. "I'm sorry. If I had known..."

Thomas had his hands buried in his hair as he processed the information. Given the situation and his own guilt, he didn't know if this was better or worse. With this on top of everything that had happened last night, he didn't know what to think anymore.

"I thought they would just repair the door, maybe talk to you all a bit to remind you of the risks. I didn't know..."

"You didn't know? You didn't know that the people whose job it is to kill lycanthropes would _kill lycanthropes_?" asked Marco while shaking his head incredulously. "You asked us to _trust_ you, knowing what you did."

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" asked Thomas with frown lines set deep on his face. "Days have passed. You've had plenty of opportunities to come clean."

Mario shook his head and looked up at Gerard almost accusingly. "I knew it turn out this way. You said they -"

"Hey!" Gerard held his arms up defensively. "Don't put this on me. I just thought that we should empty all the baggage, put all the cards on the table."

"Gerard made you confess? When were you planning on telling us, Mario?" asked Thomas heatedly but Mario had no answer, he only gaped a little like a fish.

Marc stepped in then. "This conversation isn't going anywhere. We should just postpone - "

"No," Marco interrupted loudly from his place on the bed. "I've had enough of being in the dark. We deserve answers."

"This isn't a productive conversation," said Lionel, not that his soft voice did much to ease the tension in the room. "You all just need time to calm down."

"Answers will calm me down. We've been up at night -" Marco was nearly yelling as he pointed at Robert and Thomas beside him. "- blaming ourselves for what happened and what _I_ did. But it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't -"

"That's it, then? You're just going to shift the blame completely onto me and act like you haven't done anything? I thought I was doing the right thing but it was a mistake. But don't forget that this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't come here," retaliated Mario as he grew defensive at Marco's insistent accusations.

A ferocious growl ripped through Marco's throat at Mario's unapologetic words and everyone in the room jumped a few centimetres in the air.

"Marco! Get a hold of yourself," Robert ordered firmly, not wanting any more blood on their hands especially not that of a friend.

Gerard turned to Mario, telling him it would be best if he went home for now. Mario nodded, sparing one last glance for his new friends - though he didn't know if that still applied - before showing himself out.

"What just happened?" asked Gerard, blue eyes wide with shock at how everything escalated.

"What did you expect, Geri? This is why we were supposed to tell them," Lionel replied with an eyeroll. Gerard's inability to predict the possible consequences of his actions was one of the things he disliked most about him.

"How long have you all known about Mario?" asked Thomas. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Lionel proceeded to tell them all how he came to the conclusion that Mario had leaked the information as well as why neither he, Marc nor Gerard had told them the previous evening.

"But he's only been suspended. How do we know that he doesn't have bad intentions?" Robert asked .

"At this point, anything's a possibility," Leo replied contemplatively. "However, after last night, he probably would've been under orders not to set foot near Marco after what happened last night. That being said, he's shown that he's willing to go against his superiors."

"Huh?" asked Gerard, looking at everyone, as if he just remembered where exactly they were. "What happened last night? Actually, Marco, you're hurt. Did H.A.L.A. do something?"

Robert, Thomas, Marco, Marc and Leo all looked at each other, unsure who would be the one to break the news to Gerard but they all knew that he wouldn't take it well at all.

"Let's just give Marco some time to rest. I'll tell you after our shift, okay, Geri," suggested Lionel instead.

"No. Come on, I want to know too," replied Gerard as he frowned deeper. The others in the room just stayed silent and he rolled his eyes. "What? How bad could it be?"

Marc could see Gerard was growing more and more frustrated the longer nobody answered him so Marc stepped in and tugged him out of the room. "Gerard. It's been a rough morning. We'll fill you in on the details a little later, okay?"

"Trust me," he added to ensure Gerard wouldn't argue further. As they left the room, thankfully avoiding a full-on argument in a very public hospital room, Marc shared a meaningful look with Leo before closing the door behind him.

"What now?" asked Thomas. "Won't we be welcome if Gerard knows what happened?"

Leo frowned. "No, don't worry about Geri. There are other things to worry about though. It's important now more than ever that you stay here on the premises. I think H.A.L.A. will do whatever they can to get revenge for their men but we'll still do what we can to help you _but_ this is a rehabilitation facility - we aren't soldiers - so please, _please_ , don't give H.A.L.A. any more reasons to hurt you. We might need to call in a lawyer - there's a higher chance of this going to trial now that humans have been...have died. We'll see but in the meanwhile, _please_ just stay here."

They all nodded but said nothing else and Leo took that as his cue to leave and begin with his shift - he'd missed enough of it already.

"You guys are mad at me, aren't you?"

"What do you think?" replied Robert sarcastically. "Who knows if they'll allow us back underground now? That was selfish of you. You weren't thinking."

"You were planning on returning underground?" asked Marco. He couldn't deal with the other things Robert said. It was all true, but he would avoid talking about it at length at all costs. Even thinking about the previous night filled him with conflicting emotions.

"Yes, but that might not be possible now. What were you thinking?" Thomas asked but barely gave Marco time to open his mouth before continuing. "Did they really shoot at you first?"

"Yeah. It hurt like a bitch but it's not so bad now. The doctor from earlier said I'll heal quicker than an ordinary human. It'll only take a few more hours until I'm as good as new."

A sullen silence passed in the room before Marco mumbled, "I'm sorry, you know, for ruining your plans."

"We'll deal with it the same way we dealt with everything else that's happened," responded Robert matter-of-factly.

"I can't believe Mario. Damnit, if he just hadn't -" complained Marco, clenching his fist.

"No, don't think that way," placated Robert. "It's really easy to just point the blame at him - and, I know, he did play his part - but I think if H.A.L.A. were more patient, they could've heard our side of the story. Nobody needed to die."

"...But if we hadn't come up here in the first place...Not one of my best ideas." Thomas smiled self-deprecatingly and Robert grabbed his hand comfortingly.

"The only way is forward," concluded Marco gravely. "There's no time for regrets."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the fifth chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you've had a nice day. This chapter and the next are gonna be long ones because I really couldn't find good ways to end them at the usual length [but that's a good thing, right? :)] Also, I structured this chapter a bit differently than the rest and I have no clue why but I kinda like it but the rest of the fic will be like normal. Anyway, enjoy!

###### Focus: Robert Lewandowski

When Robert first heard about what Marco had done to those two H.A.L.A. agents, he felt a fleeting sense of satisfaction. Now they would have a taste of what it was like to lose people who mattered to them - although the two they lost couldn't compare to the dozens and dozens of friends and family that H.A.L.A. had taken from the three of them. 

But from Marc's tension outside the hospital room, Robert knew that Marco's actions would do more harm than good. All he wanted was for this fiasco to be over so he and Thomas could go back home. The past two weeks were a whirlwind of ups-and-downs, but mostly downs, and he was feeling the emotional backlash of everything they had gone through.

Truthfully, life on the surface seemed interesting enough, but he craved a bit of stability and comfort and he knew that he would only find it at home with Thomas. That was why he was so excited when Thomas agreed to return home with him. He wasn't sure what Marco would have decided, but in the end, this mattered very little considering his neck might very well be on the chopping block. This worried Robert almost constantly because the decision was out of their hands. If the-powers-that-be decided that Marco was a danger to society, he'd be killed and not even B.A.R.S.A. could help them out and Robert really didn't want to lose anyone else.

In these uncertain times, he, Thomas and Marco needed to stick together and to survive. Anything less would be equivalent to spitting on the corpses of the friends and family they sentenced to death by coming to the surface.

Robert didn't quite understand why their parents hadn't told them the truth - that they'd gone underground to run away from the full moon - but he could guess. What he could remember of that first transformation was painful. His body felt like it wasn't his own. In the past, there probably wasn't even a hint of a possible suppressor like what they had received, so he imagined that their parents and grandparents were just too afraid of their animalistic nature and chose to leave it all behind and prayed that limiting their knowledge of it would keep their children's curiosity about the surface to a minimum. How that had backfired.

He thinks that, had they been told the truth, fear might've kept them underground but then again, knowing Thomas, maybe nothing could've stopped him. Except, perhaps, the door which should've been blocking the archway. However, a random lycanthrope had broken the door down and he couldn't help but wonder if they'd ever find out who it was that had done that.

Marco left his hospital room two days ago and now he, Thomas and Marco were currently working out in the gym. They were used to living in confined spaces but they couldn't help but feel restless and anxious while waiting for H.A.L.A's verdict regarding Marco's situation.

"I literally don't think it's possible to be bored up here," Thomas commented.

"Hmm," Marco hummed, considering. "No, I think every shiny toy seems nice until it's not so shiny anymore."

"Maybe, but if that happened then we'd just find something else to do. I mean, the world's a pretty big place. I can't wait until we aren't stuck in just this one building."

"But everything costs money which, in case you've forgotten, we don't have," said Marco to continue the debate.

He and Robert were glad to see Marco talking again. For the first day after he left his hospital room, he spent more time in his room than usual or, if he did leave, he would stare off into space.

"Details, details." Thomas scoffed. He wasn't even pretending to exercise anymore. Robert, however, was still going strong. "Where there's a want, there's a way."

Marco chuckled a little. "Idiot. Where there's a _will_ , there's a way. See, you're already hopeless. Lewa, don't you agree?"

"I don't think that's the end-all and be-all of living on the surface," he replied diplomatically.

"Ha!" Thomas yelled in victory. A few of the other lycanthropes in the room looked over in irritation at his outburst.

" _But_ ,"Robert continued . "My heart is where home is. See what I did there?"

"Yeah, yeah, how smart." Marco waved his hand in dismissal . "The point is that you agree. It can get boring up here."

"So you'd want to go back down?" Robert asked .

"Hell no," Marco said, to their surprise. "I'd much rather be bored up here than bored down there. It's just a matter of preference. And besides, we still aren't sure if we'll even be allowed to set foot back there again so there's no real use thinking about it until we know for sure."

A silence passed before, naturally, Thomas broke it. Silence wasn't their friend these days - it left them with nothing but their thoughts.

"What are we just standing around for? We'll start collecting dust soon. I bet I can run further than you guys on the treadmill."

"Delusional," Marco sang.

"You're _so_ on!" was Robert's challenging reply.

***

Later, Robert sped through a shower and waited for Leo to finish his shift so they could speak. He had some serious questions that needed answering and, out of all their new friends on the surface, Lionel seemed the most likely to have the answers he needed. Perhaps Gerard too, but he might not understand Robert's perspective. And who knew if Marc would have answers. Come to think of it, Robert didn't even know what his job really was.

***

"So I spoke to Leo before he left and he says that we might still have a chance of living underground once the investigation's over and the 'crime scene has been cleared up'. Isn't that great?" Robert said as he fell on their bed where Thomas was already relaxing with a book after his shower.

"I'm actually not so sure that's a good idea anymore," he replied, bookmarking the page before putting it to the side.

"Why not? You were on board a few days ago."

"Yes," Thomas agreed. "But that was _before_ Marco told us that he wouldn't wanna go back. On top of that, he got hurt by those agents there, not to mention he hurt them back. I mean, just think about how he'd feel having to live there again."

"Don't tell me you feel sorry for the H.A.L.A. guys." Robert scoffed . The idea of sympathizing for the people who'd butchered their friends and family was ridiculous. In Marco's situation, Robert wouldn't have done the same but that didn't mean he was sorry that Marco _had_ done it.

"I...I mean, I don't know. But that's not the point. It's Marco, we don't know how he'd feel about it. And we can't just say 'see you later' and go back underground if he doesn't want to go back home, Lewy. He needs us."

"Geri did say packless lycanthropes can go feral." Robert remembered him mentioning that the day they got their injections. "Okay, but what if he's okay with it? Or is that not the problem? Thomas, are _you_ okay with going back home?"

"I don't know. I just feel like this is our chance to start over and learn a whole new way of life. Lewy, there isn't anything down there but painful memories."

"Painful memories?" Robert frowned. "What's painful about home? I know it wasn't the prettiest place, but we were happy."

"That's not what I meant. Haven't you thought about how empty it'll be down there with just the three of us. What would we even _do_?"

"If you never wanted to go back, why did you lie to me before?" Robert demanded as he got worked up. Why had Thomas made it seem as if they were on the same page when they really weren't?

The tension of the past few days was rising and they both were on the verge of snapping.

"I wasn't lying before!" Thomas argued to defend himself. "I've just had a bit more time to think about it. That night was so emotional and I didn't want it turn into an argument. I know you miss how things used to be but going back down under isn't going to bring everyone we've lost back to life."

"Of course, I know that. Do you think I'm stupid?" Robert rolled his eyes.

"Well, you must be. Why else would you want to go back underground?" Thomas replied shortly .

"Oh, I'm the stupid one? That's hilarious coming from the one whose idea it was to come up here in the first place? Do you think it'll be easy adjusting to life here? Gerard told us there were still hunters or have you forgotten? And we have _nothing_ up here. We're even more vulnerable than other lycanthropes but, okay, if you think it's a good idea then maybe you should stay up here."

"Hey! Where are you going?"

But Robert only let the slam of the bedroom door answer Thomas. He didn't have any particular destination in mind but his feet carried him to the gym.

He ran on the treadmill until his chest was heaving and his dark hair stuck to his head with sweat. His muscles were burning but he was significantly calmer than he'd been before his unplanned exercise. He switched the machine off and took a seat on the floor.

Robert just couldn't understand why Thomas couldn't see things from his perspective. Their safety was on the line. What about that was difficult to understand?

Even if Marco was let off the hook the way the H.A.L.A. agents had been, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't just kill him anyway. And that wasn't the only thing they'd have to worry about - the illegal hunters might just get them instead.

And, on top of all that, they weren't equipped for living on the surface. All he and Thomas did underground for work was deliveries but, on the surface, he doubted that would be enough to earn a decent living. Why couldn't Thomas understand this? Living underground was the best thing for them. He was certain B.A.R.S.A. could arrange for supplies to be sent to them and they could come visit the surface occasionally.

But even still, he knew he shouldn't have insulted Thomas the way he had earlier. His temper got the better of him. Sweaty as he was, he would return to the room and apologize. Then Thomas would surely apologize too and they would forgive each other and their relationship would be alright again. They could talk it all through calmly the next morning and find some sort of compromise.

Robert felt confident that this was how it would all play out. When he opened their bedroom door, however, the room was empty.

###### Focus: Thomas Müller

Thomas rubbed at his dry eyes. A familiar pit of despair settled in tight in his gut. It was another restless night for him on the surface but last night was worse. It was the first night in a long while that he hadn't gone to bed with Robert beside him. He'd gone to sleep in one of the empty bedrooms in the facility. Things had gotten heated between them and not even in an enjoyable way.

Thomas had been willing to listen to what Robert thought they should do, what he wasn't okay with was a harsh reminder that all this was his fault. He told himself that enough on a daily basis but hearing it from his man's mouth was like a dagger to the heart. So, he left. He'd find out later whether it did more harm than good.

That seemed to be a pattern in his life at the moment - relying on hindsight. Unfortunately, it hardly turned out well. If only he could turn back time, he wouldn't have ever left his home. All the new experiences they'd had so far weren't in any way worth the pain that he'd put them through. He liked Leo, Gerard and Marc - and even Mario still, to an extent - well enough but they could never replace everyone underground.

Thomas felt tears gather at the corner of his eyes and groaned a little in frustration at himself. He didn't want to throw himself a pity party. He brushed the tears away before getting up to face another day.

A little later, he still hadn't seen hide nor hair of Robert and thought he must be avoiding him. The hospital was large enough and busy enough that it would be easy to avoid running into someone you didn't want to see. If a day went by with no word, Thomas would seek him out then. For now, he was sitting in the recreation room, browsing through an equestrian magazine when someone sat down across from him. It wasn't who he was expecting.

"Morning." Marc grinned at him. "How are you?"

Thomas tilted his head with a little smile. "Dangerous question. You know, out of you, Leo and Geri, you're the only one I've never seen working. Seriously, what is your job?"

"Dangerous question," Marc replied coyly before he got serious again. "Where's your better half?"

" _Better_? If you keep saying things like that, I might just get offended," Thomas replied evasively. He widened his smile to keep the act up, though it felt a little paper-thin even to him. Marc's knowing expression let him know that he wasn't the least bit fooled.

Thomas closed the magazine for now. He could tell Marc was settled in a for a conversation and he didn't want to be dismissive of someone who'd helped him a lot in the last weeks.

"Did you have therapy underground?" was the question Marc asked.

"Now, now, ter Stegen, I'm not that far off the deep-end."

This time, however, there was no laughter. It was a battle of wills between the two to see who would crack. Would Marc relent and let Thomas continue as he was or would Thomas cave and admit that he was at war with his conscience?

"Argh! So, you think I need help?"

"I think you know you need help, Thomas. Maybe everyone else hasn't noticed yet since Gerard is busy, Leo doesn't want to intrude, and Robert and Marco are each dealing with the trauma - " Here, Thomas grimaced. " - in their own way but I can smell the sadness coming off you."

"I took a shower this morning."

"It isn't something that can be washed off. It's a lycanthrope thing but it requires a bit of focus to accurately determine the different pheromones. I'm guessing since you three received the suppressor, it's been constant so that's why you haven't noticed the difference. Maybe you thought it was normal to smell that way - but it's deep sadness, mourning and _guilt_."

"...It was my idea - all of it. Robert didn't want to leave but he didn't want me to come alone. Marco was the same. It's my fault that everyone died," Thomas said as he traced the horse on the magazine's front cover.

"That sounds like survivor's guilt - at least in my uneducated opinion. It isn't really legal for you guys to go to therapy considering the whole situation is supposed to be hush-hush, but therapists have patient-confidentiality anyway. I think you've been carrying this too long. All three of you have. There are psychologists here on the premises. I think you should schedule an appointment. It's free of charge."

Thomas nodded but didn't look up just yet. A knot was growing in his throat yet again and he didn't want to face anyone this way. Faces of people he once knew came into focus in his mind's eye. Marc must have been able to tell - or smell - because he simply left thereafter.

The television rang out loudly in the almost-empty room. Without much concentration he could clearly hear the news anchor's voice as she reported the next big story.

"Further news on the gruesome murders of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar Dos Santos and Angel Di Maria - mere hours after the discovery of the three men in Mbappe's home, detectives have made a breakthrough in the case."

The camera feed cut to Detective Hernandez, judging by the title at the bottom of the screen. "We believe all three of the victims were lycanthrope hunters prior to their murders. After thorough searches of all three of their houses, we found many unlicensed weapons in their possession as well as further evidence leading to this conclusion."

The news reporter returned to the screen once more. "Late last night, a neighbour called ambulances and police after hearing a ruckus in Mbappe's home. Following the discovery of the victims' crimes against lycanthropes, the case will be turned over to H.A.L.A. for further investigation. Now, in sport news..."

"Was it really for the best, coming up here? There isn't any radiation but there might as well be." Thomas sighed and brushed a hand through his messy curls.

He left the room to get some air with the magazine in hand. Outside, he sprawled all over the grass under a large tree. He took a deep breath of fresh air to try to clear his mind.

"Here you are. You're a difficult man to find."

Thomas couldn't help but groan. The one day he just wanted some time to himself, everybody was bothering him.

"You look like shit," Marco joked as he fell beside Thomas. "Cat got your tongue for once? Where's this cat? I'd like to thank it."

"How long have you been waiting to use that one?"

"Since we met."

There was an empty silence between them where Thomas tried to find words. He found that, for once, he couldn't. What could he say? Sorry that I killed everyone you know?

"You didn't kill anyone, Thomas. That was me, remember?"

Thomas blinked, then blinked again before responding, "How did you - could you _smell_ how I was feeling?"

Marco's head jerked backwards in surprise and he frowned. "What?"

"Oh. Marc told me earlier that we can smell emotions so I just thought..." Thomas' reply drifted off.

Marco rubbed his nose. "Shit, really? That's so weird. But, no, my super-nose didn't smell anything. You said it just now, that you killed everyone. But you've got to know that's not what happened."

"But it was my idea -"

"Not this again." Marco rolled his eyes. "Both you and Lewa are so upset over dumb shit today. Listen, Mülli, did you know what would happen?"

"No, but -"

"Then it wasn't your intention for anybody to die. You didn't make any conscious choices to kill anyone so don't beat yourself up about it. For all we know, the H.A.L.A. bastards might have decided to come kill us in two months or three years. Who knows? It's not your fault. And nobody blames you so -"

"That's not true."

"Huh?"

"Robert blames me. He said so himself."

"So that's why he was so down in the dumps today," Marco said before sighing. "Come on, you've got to know that he didn't mean it. I can bet that you were arguing about something unrelated and his pride got hurt and he lashed out."

"That doesn't mean it isn't true."

"Ugh... If it were me, would you hate me? If I was the one who brought us up here, would you blame me?"

Thomas didn't reply.

"Fine. Don't answer. I was only trying to prove a point anyway because I know the answer - you wouldn't. I can't tell you how to feel, but listen to me, you have to make peace with this, Thomas, and move forward."

"There's no time for regrets, right? That's what you said in the hospital. Don't you regret it though, killing those guys?"

"Only one of them died," Marco muttered as he looked away. "But I...It caused a lot of trouble in the long run. I should've just stayed here at B.A.R.S.A. instead of running off. It was definitely stupid."

"Then you know how I feel. I was stupid."

"Then we were all stupid: you, me and Robert because we all came here, Thomas. It was your idea, yes, but we agreed. Don't you see? If you want to feel guilty, then at least acknowledge that you aren't the only guilty one."

"...Marc wants me to go to therapy."

"Do you want to?"

"I think I'm going to give it a chance."

"Good. Maybe then you can get your tongue back from that cat. And for God's sakes, talk to Lewa, okay? He's kind of a mess."

***

Later, Thomas would exclaim in shock, "Wait, _you're_ the therapist?"

###### Focus: Marco Reus

Marco and Robert were eating dinner without Thomas that evening. Marco was a bit frustrated that the two still hadn't buried the hatchet when they were both miserable without the other by their side. For instance, Robert was mostly pushing his food around his plate.

"I think if your meal could talk, it would want you to just put it out of it's damn misery. Just eat, man, come on."

Robert gave him a look. "If your food could talk, it would tell you to stop acting like a know-it-all."

"And now your food would tell you to listen to your dear friend Marco because he _does_ know it all," he replied with a little crooked grin.

"Then yours would tell you to keep eating so you stop talking bullshit."

Their faces remained serious for a moment longer before they shared a laugh. After Marco continued speaking, "Now, why haven't you two spoken yet? Instead you're both walking around sulking."

Robert's shrug was accompanied with a heavy sigh. "I don't know. I must've really hurt his feelings if he's not talking to me. He doesn't avoid me for so long but maybe later tonight we'll sort it out. Do you know where is?"

"Well, therapy would be my guess. Earlier today, he mentioned wanting to go."

"What?" Robert was alarmed, thinking he'd hurt Thomas so badly he had to turn to therapy to vent his feelings.

"Yeah." Marco nodded without really taking note of Robert's outburst. "The guilt is hitting him really hard so Marc told him that getting professional help would, well, help."

"Shit, and I've made it worse now. Damnit, I should go find him."

"Yeah, but not now. I mean, if he is in therapy, he should get that done first. It'd be selfish not to let him finish getting his thoughts sorted out."

"When did you get so good at giving advice?" Robert asked with a jokingly contemplative expression.

Marco scoffed. "I always have been. You just didn't know because you didn't take my advice. I'm a man of many talents. Speaking of, did you know we can smell emotions?"

" _Smell_ emotions?" Robert frowned at the idea.

"Yeah, apparently Marc says we can do that. Why didn't he teach us that first? It could really come in handy." 

***

After dinner, Marco was on his way to the recreation room. Television, he was certain, was man's greatest invention. He accidentally ran into Gerard on the way. Or perhaps not, because, apparently, Gerard had been looking for him.

"Marco, there you are," he began and scratched at his beard. "Where are you going?"

"Rec room."

"Let me walk you there. So, the other day, Leo told me about what happened - how you killed Casemiro and put Kroos in a coma."

Marco folded his arms. So far, Gerard had been the only one to put it all so bluntly. From what Leo had told him a few days prior, Gerard had been pissed when he heard about what Marco had done. He couldn't really understand why - Gerard hated H.A.L.A. after all. He didn't expect him to sing songs praising Marco's actions but to have avoided him for this long - he hadn't seen it coming.

"Yeah, I know it was stupid - I shouldn't have done that. It's made things more complicated for us but they came for me first. It was self-defense."

Gerard's eyebrows furrowed a bit. "Right. It's been difficult keeping H.A.L.A. from detaining you even while decisions are being made. We told Ramos that, in our professional opinion, keeping you isolated from Robert and Thomas so soon after losing almost your entire pack so traumatically could cause you to go feral. I think that's what has been keeping them off your back. And maybe, shifting a bit of the blame on them in this way might make them a bit more lenient."

"It means I have a chance of living, right? They won't hurt Robert or Thomas, will they? Even if they choose to..." He cleared his throat. "Execute me?"

"I'm not sure." Gerard sighed and shook his head. "But anyway, I was looking for you because Kroos woke up from his coma earlier this evening. He's asking to see you."

Marco's blood turned cold. If Kroos was awake, that meant he would tell everyone what Marco had done. The truth would be revealed. Casemiro had shot him first but only once and Marco had done the rest. If they knew he was lying, he was much less likely to get away with what he'd done. His hands started shaking as he panicked.

"- can go tomorrow morning. He'll probably stay in the hospital a while longer so when visiting hours are open, we'll head over. H.A.L.A. will probably want to supervise, can't blame them for that." Gerard stopped talking as he noticed how pale Marco looked. "Hey, are you okay?"

Marco swallowed heavily. "I - oh God. They'll kill me."

Gerard gently took his elbow and steered him to the side of the corridor, although there weren't too many people around anyway. "Why do you say that?"

Marco shook his head but didn't answer.

"Listen, you don't have to worry. They aren't going to hurt you unless they've been ordered to and meetings are still ongoing. I'll go with you. Now, I'm not bulletproof but if it comes down to it, just hide behind me. I'm human."

Marco felt a little nauseous, the way he always felt when he recalled that night and what he had done. Why had he done something so foolish? He shouldn't have let his temper get the better of him. He blinked and saw Casemiro's pained face. He groaned and leaned against the wall.

"Here, come on, let me walk you to your room."

***

The early hours of the morning saw Marco thrashing around in his sheets with a shiny sheen of sweat coating his body.

"No. No!" His yelling woke him up from his nightmare. He chest heaved with his pants as the images of Casemiro faded away. He rubbed his hands of his face several times. He knew from experience that he wouldn't be getting another wink of sleep so he rose to turn on the bedroom light. The faint buzz of electricity helped chase away the loud rattle of the rifle.

In the daylight, he'd been trying to act as normal as possible - to avoid what he'd done but now, he would have to face it in the shape of Kroos. He couldn't run away from this anymore. Even if he did, H.A.L.A. would find him. He'd read books. Criminals who ran away were almost always sentenced harsher than those who hadn't. All he could do was hope his death would be quick and that Thomas and Robert would be allowed to keep living.

He stayed in his room all morning staring at the ceiling as he lie on his bed. He couldn't bring himself to face anybody and food was the absolute last thing on his mind.

"Shit. Is this my last day? What's going to happen at the hospital? They'll probably have some guys waiting there to lock me up unless that Kroos guy does actually have anything to say to me."

But what could he have to say? Would he yell at Marco for killing his friend - no, from what Marco could tell, Kroos was the calmer of the two. Perhaps he would ask why. How could Marco answer that? Did he have a reason? Killing Casemiro hadn't brought his pack back to life but had the revenge made him feel better? He didn't know. All it did was make him incapable of sleeping peacefully.

Hours passed by this way, with Marco going back and forth with himself in his mind. Knowing that it might be his last day, he decided that he would go say something to Robert and Thomas before he left. It was the least he could do, really. But when he opened his door, Gerard was there with his hand up, ready to knock.

"You look like crap but come on, we should go. Visiting hours are actually only an hour long. Inappropriate name, actually."

Marco couldn't even muster up a laugh at his bad luck. "Could I just go say something to Lewa and Thomas really quick?"

"Eh, no, it can wait. Come on, we'll just get this over with and hear what he has to say. I'll be there with you so they won't do anything crazy. Maybe all he wants is an apology." Gerard shrugged casually.

Marco felt like he was sinking. He couldn't get any words out of his mouth. Fear turned his blood cold but he still broke out in a sweat. Was this how Casemiro felt that night when he realized that he would die, that it was his last night alive?

He couldn't remember much of the drive to the other hospital in the city - a hospital for humans. Looking at it through the windscreen, he saw it wasn't as big as B.A.R.S.A. but considering that they needed more facilities, it made sense.

He swallowed but his throat still felt dry as a desert. "Gerard, I can't go in there."

Gerard turned to him and smiled reassuringly. "Of course you can." He made to open his car door but Marco reached over and grabbed his forearm. He was certain his grip was too tight but Gerard didn't mention it.

"No, you don't understand. They'll _kill_ me. It's a trap."

"What makes you say that?" Gerard's blue eyes met his frantically wide green ones. Gerard didn't exactly look curious or anything - expectant, if Marco had to guess.

"I'm not going in there," Marco insisted. "I know I probably have no right to say this but I want to live. If I go in there, I won't."

"Marco, that's a hospital. They aren't going to kill you in there." Gerard tried to climb out again but Marco tugged him back inside.

"No! You don't understand. It's a trap. They want to kill me because I killed Casemiro and injured Kroos. I said it was self-defense but...but it wasn't, not _really_. I should've stayed at B.A.R.S.A. like you guys told me to but I didn't and then I killed him. He shot me once, Casemiro, and I - my claws ripped his throat open." Marco's voice quivered like a leaf in the wind. His vision grew misty but he blinked furiously to clear it up. "I don't know what I was thinking but I was afraid that I'd be killed. You said we aren't treated the same as humans so I...I took his gun and shot myself. I made it look like they hurt me so badly that I had no choice."

Gerard stayed silent for a while and Marco wanted to hit himself for admitting the truth, for crying, for being a murderer, for not insisting that Thomas and Robert stay underground. For everything.

Finally, Gerard cleared his throat. "You should know that Kroos didn't actually wake up. He's still comatose. I hoped that if you thought he was awake, you would admit to what you'd done so that I wouldn't take you inside."

Marco blinked and let the words settle in his mind so he could process them. "What!"

"I had to know for sure whether it was all in self-defense or not and putting you in a desperate situation was the only way I could think of to get the truth."

"You fucking asshole!" Marco growled.

"Yeah, I know." Gerard nodded but didn't apologize. "It didn't add up to me. We told you three to stay at B.A.R.S.A. but you left anyway - sounds to me as though you went looking for a fight, Marco." Marco had no response for that. But fortunately for him, Gerard kept speaking. "It was a selfish thing I did. I just needed to know if their blood was on my hands too. It happened just as Ramos said it would - except, well, you didn't turn feral so I guess that's a bonus."

"Let me get this straight, you lied to me just to find out whether or not your conscience should be clear?"

"Damn, you know, I hoped that this wasn't the truth. I was so pissed when Leo told me what you had done. I'm a doctor. I try to save lives and now the life of someone I saved took the life of another."

"Do you expect an apology from me? You haven't lost anything so don't expect any fucking sympathy." Marco scoffed. He couldn't believe what Gerard had done. His heart was still racing from earlier.

"I don't want any sympathy. I don't regret anything I've done - I just wanted the truth and now I'll have to make peace with it. You'll have to do the same. Can you live with your decisions or will you admit the truth?"

Marco, once again, found himself at a loss for words. Could he make peace with what he'd done or would he admit to it and be killed? Earlier, when he thought he had no choice, he would've fought Gerard to not enter that hospital but now, given the option, what would he do?

"There's no wrong or right answer. Don't look to me for a moral compass. You'll have to decide for yourself. Either way, I'm not going to tell anyone what you've told me."

"You mean that? But why? If the truth was so important to you, why wouldn't you do anything with the truth now that you have it?" Marco asked. Given what had just happened, Marco wouldn't be so quick to believe anything out of Gerard's mouth.

Gerard shrugged. "Because of the circumstances. H.A.L.A. took nearly everything from you and you took something back. If it were me, maybe I would've done the same or maybe I wouldn't have. Life is about decisions and dealing with the consequences whether they're good or bad. As far as I'm concerned, you're being punished either way - if you admit to it, you'll be executed and if you don't, then you've got your conscience to deal with."

They sat in silence for a while longer before Gerard continued, "If you decide to keep it a secret, I won't stop trying to have you three be let free."

Marco didn't reply. He turned back to the hospital. Somewhere in there was Kroos, laying in a hospital bed, unable to move or talk. Marco had caused that. Should he be punished for it or was it justified? He didn't know. If he spent his whole life helping others and doing the right thing, would that make up for what he had done? Did the H.A.L.A. agents have thoughts like these or did they just move on to the next case with a clean conscience?

"I -" He cleared his throat before continuing. "I don't have an answer for you. How can I know if I deserve to live? What does that even mean?"

"Only you can answer these questions for yourself. But, I suppose, now is too soon. I've really put you through the ringer tonight. Let's just go back to B.A.R.S.A."

"You really won't tell anyone? I haven't even admitted it to Robert and Thomas," Marco0 said as he looked down at his hands as if they held the answers.

"My lips are sealed," Gerard replied as he turned his car back on and pulled out of the parking lot.

"Okay. Thank you." Marco's voice could barely be heard over the engine. Through the side mirror, he looked at the hospital until it was out of sight. Then, sighing quietly, he raised his eyes to look though the windscreen at the view ahead of him.

A ringing could be heard through the radio. Gerard pressed a button on the steering wheel and spoke, "Hey, Leo. What's up?"

"Where are you? I think Marco's left again." Leo sounded totally exhausted even through the speakers.

"Oh, don't worry. He's with me. I just took him out for a bit to take his mind off things."

"What? Gerard. They aren't supposed to leave the premises. Why would you do that?"

"I _just_ told you - to take his mind off things. We're on our way back right now."

"Well, hurry," Leo said, and he was clearly agitated. "Ramos is here. H.AL.A. have made their decision."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the sixth chapter! I've actually finished the eighth chapter and I'm deliberating if an epilogue is necessary so the chapter count _might_ go back down to eight. I currently have no idea. Also, the idea of a doctor feeling guilt for the actions of their patient is something I got from the anime _Monster_. Until next week!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. After thinking about it for a week, I decided to change the chapter count back to 8. Anyway, enjoy this monster of a chapter!

When Gerard and Marco arrived at B.A.R.S.A. they rushed to Lionel's office, where Leo said everyone was waiting for them. Given that there wasn't a huge H.A.L.A. vehicle outside B.A.R.S.A, Marco felt just a little optimistic about his chances. However, if he was truly being let off the hook, why would Ramos have come all the way to them just give them the news when a phone call would've been enough? Besides, there was always the possibility that Gerard would spill to the beans to Ramos.

The walk to Leo's office felt longer than ever before but when they finally reached the door, Marco's instincts were telling him to turn back and run but he steeled his nerves and opened the door. Inside was everyone they expected with expressions ranging from tense to concerned to judgemental.

"Where were you? We allowed him to stay here under very specific conditions, Pique," said Sergio as he gestured at Marco.

Marco cut off that thread of conversation swiftly and each word he uttered was dripping with urgency. "What's the decision? What's going to happen now?"

"You'll be let free."

A collective exhale passed through the room at the good news. With the weight off his chest, Marco felt light enough to float. Suspicious, he looked at Gerard from the corner of his eye as he wondered what would come next.

Ramos continued, "But your assistance is required with a new case of ours. If you help us, you'll be fully pardoned."

"Ah! Now it makes sense. You came here for help. Can't you handle your own business?" Gerard's smile was unkind. Marc gave him a sharp look to scold him silently. The last thing they should do is aggravate Sergio.

Before Sergio could reply, Lionel decided to keep the conversation on track by asking, "What's the case? And how would they be helping?"

"Wait, so the only way for Marco to live is if we help you? What if we fail and the case isn't solved?" Thomas asked from his place on the sofa. Robert was next to him, with Marc standing on the other side of the room. Leo was standing behind his desk and Ramos seated in the chair across from him.

"The pardon stands regardless of the results. That being said, we can't fail."

"So what is the case? It must be something difficult if you're admitting to needing help," Marc said .

Ramos sighed and threw the files that he had been holding onto Leo's desk before saying, "Maybe you've heard - there was recently a triple homicide of lycanthrope hunters. Given that this didn't happen on a full moon night, it's only logical that this lycanthrope received the suppressor. That puts us humans at a severe disadvantage if we try to apprehend the suspect. That's why we need a lycanthrope's...help."

"You already have a suspect?" Marco asked. There really was no question in his mind that he would be doing this. It was for his life. "All I have to do is find them and help you catch them?"

Sergio nodded. "If he's guilty then yes, that's it. But if it's not him, then we'll still be needing your help to find the actual culprit. Technically, you're the only one who needs to come along but, given everything that's happened, I'm sure you wouldn't want to be alone with us so it'll be the three of you, myself and two of my colleagues. So, do you agree?"

"We don't have much of a choice," Robert replied sourly.

As they were speaking, Gerard and Leo were paging through the contents of the file. Sergio thought of telling them that wasn't allowed but kept quiet instead.

"Hey, it says here that the main suspect is a lycanthrope whose pack was killed, Jürgen Klopp. He could be feral." Gerard squinted critically at Ramos. A feral lycanthrope is absurdly dangerous. No wonder H.A.L.A. was willing to use Marco's situation to their advantage in this way.

"Oh, but I thought your suppressor would help with that?" Sergio asked innocently, but his eyes were mocking.

Gerard's glare was full of fire and he had just opened his mouth to retort when Leo interrupted. "You know as well as we do that ferality is a state of mind, not a medical condition. The important thing is that if he is feral and able to turn at will, this will be extremely dangerous. Will the six of you be enough?"

"It will have to be. I figured it would be best to have an equal number of humans and lycanthropes considering everything that's happened and since there's only three of them, there'll only be three of us."

"What will happen to him once he's caught? Will he be killed?" Thomas asked. He, too, moved to join Gerard and Leo over the file. "It's not his fault that the hunters killed his pack."

"If you're going to have that mentality, then don't come along. This is possibly a feral lycanthrope. They never come peacefully. Mercy will most likely not be an option. I'll be here tomorrow morning at seven. Be ready by then."

"I thought we'd start immediately. Isn't this a priority case, if he's feral?" Robert asked.

"Yes, but we can't charge in blindly. In the meanwhile, I'm going to do more investigating into other possible targets of his. If this is a revenge case, he'll go after other hunters. That gives me somewhere to start. Don't forget - seven a.m." Sergio stood up and left promptly without another word.

"You should come take a look, Robert, and see what he looks like," Leo said after the door shut behind Sergio.

Thomas moved over to make room for Robert to take a look. "I understand why we need to do this, of course, but, like, if this guy is targeting hunters, doesn't that make him kind of a good guy?"

"Not if he's killing them. If he can find them, he can expose them or report them," Gerard said sternly. "However, ferality isn't rational. It causes impulsivity so he probably wasn't thinking clearly."

"So, I mean, since we know the suppressor doesn't help with ferality, does that mean that _we_ could still turn feral?" Thomas eyes were wide with worry.

Everybody exchanged uneasy glances and the silence was heavy with concerns that were better left unsaid.

***

The three lycanthropes were currently sitting in Marco's room - Gerard, Leo and Marc had long since gone home. They had to talk things through in a space that was more private than the recreation room.

"Was there a tornado in here?" Thomas asked as he haphazardly made Marco's bed before taking a seat. There was enough space for all three men provided they didn't sprawl on the bed so they got comfortable just sitting.

"Is that really important right now?" Marco replied. Cleaning was the least of his priorities lately.

"No," Robert answered. "It's not. But where were you and Gerard earlier? Don't you remember Leo basically begging us to stay put?"

Marco rubbed his right arm as he deliberated whether or not he should come clean. Gerard, on the surface at least, hadn't judged him too harshly for what he'd done. The longer he remained quiet, the more suspicious the other two men would become. "We...went to the hospital where the guy I attacked is being kept."

"You went inside?" Thomas' eyebrows shot up. "What happened? How would H.A.L.A. have let you anywhere near him?"

"Well." Marco dragged the word out to stall for time. His mind was still racing. "We didn't make it inside before Leo called and we had to come back." The knot that built in his chest only grew tighter.

"Oh. Well, then, I suppose that isn't -"

"Wait! There's something else," he choked out before his window of opportunity closed. "...It - what I did before - it wasn't in self-defense. I was pissed off and attacked Kroos. Casemiro shot me and then I...killed him. I was afraid so I shot myself again with his gun so that I looked like more of a victim than I was."

One wouldn't need lycanthropic senses to hear a pin drop in the room. Marco couldn't bring himself to look up from his hands to see their reactions. Nevertheless, he felt a sense of relief admitting it and the knot in his chest eased a bit.

"You don't have to say anything." Marco's words tumbled out hastily. "I know it's a big bomb to drop on you guys. Gerard said he wouldn't turn me in, so that's good news. He said that he'd leave that choice to me."

"But you won't, right? You know what they'll do to you, Marco," Robert said with no small amount of urgency.

He shrugged. "That depends on you two. Tomorrow, or how ever long this investigation takes, will be dangerous so I'll understand if you don't want to do it. It is for my sake, so if you don't wanna do it, I'll turn myself in."

Thomas scoffed. "Do you honestly expect us to agree to something so awful, Marco? We're obviously not going to tell you to turn yourself in and be executed. We're going through with this investigation. And how could we not? They need our help catching a feral that they couldn't catch on their own."

Marco frowned. "It was just a suggestion. You've already sacrificed a lot on my behalf. And I know you aren't totally okay with this, Thomas."

"Well." Robert sighed deeply. "We're way passed doing the right thing. Our priority should just be making it out of this in one piece. If we can help H.A.L.A. with this then our lives will finally be our own again. God, I can't believe I just said that - that we're going to be helping them."

"To maybe kill a lycanthrope who's hunting hunters, no less. It's not exactly a bad thing," Thomas waved his hands in indignation. "They killed his pack, for fuck's sake! They aren't innocent."

"It's a shitty situation, but I think we're better off not thinking about it too much. We shouldn't be trying to sympathize with him, Thommy, we're gonna be his enemies tomorrow."

Thomas nodded but said nothing further.

"I'm glad to see you got your shit sorted out. You were both miserable without each other," Marco said to change the subject. Talking about tomorrow wouldn't raise their spirits and Marco wanted to distract them from the mess he'd created, even if only for a night.

Thomas perked up like a bird and shared a smile with Robert. Warmth radiated in their eyes at the sight of one another and at the memory of their resolution.

***

The previous evening, Thomas returned to his and Robert's room after eating dinner. His session with Marc was difficult. Usually, he had no problem getting his words out, but for some reason, it had felt as though there was a blockage in his throat. However, after a while, answering Marc's gentle yet probing questions became a bit easier.

Robert was already inside, sitting on the bed but facing the door. His foot was tapping impatiently but he seemed to sag in relief when he saw Thomas. "Are you okay? I heard you were in therapy."

Thomas nodded as he closed the door. "I'm just fine. Although Marc says I have survivor's guilt or something. But not to worry, he thinks I will overcome it. How are you?"

"Better now." Robert waved a hand dismissively though he had a little smile. "Come closer. We need to talk."

"You aren't going to run off again, are you?" Thomas joked as he approached his side of the bed, although his eyes were sharp and assessing.

"No," he replied with a determined shake of the head. "I was really worked up yesterday but we need sort this out once and for all. No more lies. That being said, I still have reservations about living up here permanently."

"I know and it makes sense. It isn't as safe here as it was underground. _Clearly_. But there are tons of lycanthropes up here and not all of them are running away from life because of hunters. And... I don't think H.A.L.A. will really be a problem unless we break any laws - which we, and by we, I mean Marco, hopefully won't be doing anymore."

Robert sighed. "It would've been much easier on all of us if he hadn't done what he had. But okay, you want to stay up here and I want to stay underground. That hasn't changed. So, how about this, we'll live up here, but still go underground from time to time just to...to visit."

The graves of the dead were often visited too, after all.

"You're sure?" Thomas asked skeptically. He was certain he'd have to try harder to convince Robert to see things from his perspective. "Weren't you saying that it wouldn't be safe?"

"It won't be but you'll protect me, won't you?"

"Always." Thomas replied automatically. He was still a little shocked at Robert being so agreeable.

Robert nodded decisively with a grin. "Then it's sorted. Home's where the heart is, isn't it?"

Letting go of his stubbornness was worth the million-watt smile on his love's face. They finally moved closer like the magnets they were and Robert sighed happily when he could get his hands on Thomas again. They shared a deep kiss and both men poured every ounce of relief and happiness they could into it.

"Thank you," Thomas whispered in the space between them afterwards. They smiled against each other's lips.

"Of course. One of us has to be the mature one," Robert teased and Thomas couldn't resist laughing. "I'm just glad we're on the same page."

Thomas nodded in agreement. He recalled something Marc had told him to do earlier. "One more thing actually and, like you said, no lies - do you resent me for convincing you to come up here?"

"Where's this coming from now?" Robert asked with a frown.

"It's...I have a hard time understanding how you couldn't blame me for everything. It wouldn't have happened if I hadn't roped you two into thinking this was a good idea. So, I just need to know, please? Do you blame me?"

Robert was quiet for a spell and Thomas felt his stomach sink to his toes. "I don't blame you, Thomas. I blame myself for not trying harder to convince you to stay. But I know why I didn't - it's because I was curious too. Don't blame yourself, please. You didn't force us to leave home. We all made the mistake of coming here."

Thomas still didn't say anything and Robert missed his smile like he would a limb. "You blame yourself and I blame myself so let's both promise not to blame ourselves or each other. It won't change anything."

"I can promise that I'll try," Thomas relented. It wouldn't be easy, and he'll always have a seed of regret, but he couldn't let that stop him from living. For everything that they'd lost, he could try to gain something new. Nothing could be done for the people they'd lost, but he'd try to honour their memory.

***

The following morning, the three men were dressed and waiting in B.A.R.S.A's parking lot to be picked up by Ramos and company. Thomas couldn't sit still and was pacing back and forth. Similarly, Marco's kept tapping his foot nervously. Robert appeared outwardly calm, but who could be when they were about to drive off to who-knows-where with the people who murdered those dear to them?

The three tensed when the white H.A.L.A. vehicle pulled up. As promised, three H.A.L.A. agents got out the vehicle.

"Hey, guys." Mario waved awkwardly.

Neither of them knew where to look or how to speak to each other anymore. They hadn't left things in a good spot the last time the trio had seen Mario.

"...So you're off suspension now." Thomas said, although there was really no need.

Mario nodded.

"Enough chit-chat, or whatever _that_ is. You three will be seated in the back," Ramos said as he moved around the vehicle towards the back. "You already know Mario. This is Dani Carvajal."

All six men moved to the back of the vehicle where Sergio unlocked the doors. Carvajal kept a good distance between himself and the three lycanthropes. Even a blind man could see the mistrust and hostility in his eyes.

"Why are there bars on the windows?" Robert asked. The vehicle had a large back and indeed, bars on the windows. It was usually used to keep prisoner lycanthropes in transit and Sergio said as much.

"Except you aren't prisoners but we still need to take precautions. The back's reinforced metal, the windows don't open but to make it more welcoming, there's a few blankets and pillows. Magazines too."

Contrary to Ramos' claims, the inside was nothing except cold metal with benches on either side. There were four sets of chains attached to the floor - not a friendly look. Robert sent a skeptical look Ramos' way.

"We aren't chaining you up. That's for the other prisoners. And Klopp - when we catch him," Mario rushed to assure them.

"We're bringing him in alive?" Thomas asked, cautiously hopeful.

"If we can." Ramos shrugged. "Now, listen, we're going to begin our investigation at Klopp's house. It'll be a miracle if he's still there but at the very least, we should be able to get a few leads. How's your smelling capabilities? Do you think you'll be able to pick up on his scent?"

"We're going to be hunting dogs?" Marco scowled at the implications.

"What did you think was going to happen?" Carvajal asked sarcastically. "We'll handle the investigation and let you do what you do best - hunting."

"Maybe _you'll_ be who I hunt next," Marco thought but he knew better than to say this aloud, instead he said, "Okay, fine. You said we're starting at his house, then let's go. The sooner we begin, the sooner we can finish." He climbed up into the vehicle, soon followed by Robert.

Everyone was surprised when Mario followed him into the back.

"What are you doing?" Ramos voiced what everybody was thinking.

"Surveillance, sir. It's just an extra precaution." Mario nodded with conviction. He wanted to talk things over with the trio, even if Sergio and Dani might be able to hear from the front. He didn't care.

Ramos looked doubtful but allowed it nonetheless.

"Hey," Ramos stopped Thomas before he could join them inside. "What's in the bag?"

Thomas jerked his shoulders to jostle the backpack in question. "Nothing. It's for our clothes. They tear when we transform."

Ramos squinted at him in consideration before nodding. Thomas nodded back before clambering inside the vehicle. The space seemed to shrink as Ramos shut the doors, even though the windows allowed for some light. Mario gave them a tight smile that was meant to reassure them before the doors banged closed and were locked.

" _Surveillance?_ " Marco asked incredulously.

"That was only an excuse, I swear. I want to apologize - again - for reporting on you guys and everything I said in the hospital. I wasn't thinking clearly and I got defensive. I'm sorry."

The four of them were jostled into the air as the vehicle drove over a speed bump.

Thomas tilted his head. "I'm not upset anymore. I mean, look at your face - you look like a punched dog -"

" _Kicked_ dog, or puppy," Robert corrected idly.

"A kick is just a punch with a foot." Thomas waved his hand dismissively. "The point is: I forgive you, Mario."

Robert nodded. "You were only doing your job. That day, at the caverns, you led us away from H.A.L.A. I don't remember if we thanked you, but thank you."

Everybody held their breath as they looked to Marco to gauge his reaction.

He knew they were all waiting for him to say something. His reaction to Mario's confession was by far the worst. "...I'm sorry too. For everything I said. And also for hurting your colleagues. You must've known them well."

Mario averted his eyes. "Yes...but never mind that. This is like your first mission. Are you shitting yourselves yet?"

"Us? You mean you. I can even smell it, rookie," Marco teased lightly.

Mario gently kicked Marco's ankle with his foot. Marco feigned pain anyway and rubbed at his ankle.

"Now there's a kicked dog." Thomas laughed and they all soon joined him in his infectious laughter. It helped them forget where they were going. But reality descended upon them soon after.

"So...do you guys think you'll be able to pick up a scent?" Mario asked to fill the silence.

I mean, we can definitely smell much better than before but enough to track someone? I'm not sure." Thomas chewed on his lower lip.

"What happens if we can't? If we're useless?" Marco asked sharply.

Mario shook his head. "Don't worry about us. Klopp's the dangerous one today. We've got our own methods of finding suspects so it wouldn't be a disaster if you can't track him."

"That's why we're starting at his house, isn't it? You want us to get a feel for how he smells. Don't take this the wrong way but it seems to me like we'll be doing all the hard work - we have to find him and catch him while you supervise us," Robert said.

Mario hesitated. "You aren't completely wrong. I've never seen a feral before but I've spoken with agents who have. The idea of one transforming whenever they want to is scary. You three stand a better chance of taking him down than the three of us."

"You should've just brought more agents then." Marco rolled his eyes.

"I don't imagine you would've felt better among twelve of us," Mario replied pointedly.

"Still. What if we aren't enough?" Thomas asked.

Mario was wringing his hands. "With a feral? Then we're dead."

The hum of the vehicle filled the following silence. Then it stopped and there were a few tense seconds when they weren't sure of what would be awaiting them outside the doors.

When the four of them jumped out, Mario pointed out which house it was - it didn't look run-down or abandoned although the grass was a little overgrown. It was at the end of a cul-de-sac on the edge of the town, close to the forest that housed the underground caverns. In hindsight, it wasn't a surprise that a lycanthrope would want to live near nature.

"This is the place?" Thomas asked unnecessarily. The atmosphere was uneasy and Ramos had a determined look in his eyes. Carvajal looked as hostile as he'd been all morning, whereas Mario's eyes were flitting from place to place as if he was expecting Klopp to jump out from anywhere.

Ramos marched up to the front door. Halfway up the walkway, the trio could make out the sounds of pained groans and rough growling. It wasn't coming from the house.

"Ramos," Robert called out as quietly as he could. "Let's go around. We hear something."

The humans came back towards them. Robert signaled towards the backyard and they cautiously walked around the house. As they came around to the back, they could see where the sounds were coming from. In the back right corner of the garden, was a wooden shed with curtained windows.

They carefully approached the large shed in the yard. It wasn't about trying to avoid being spotted because they knew Klopp would sense their approach, but rather that he could attack at any moment.

The crunch of the grass under their feet sounded was as loud as thunder in the still air. The pained groans the three of them had heard quietened to faint whimpers. Whatever was happening in the shed had stopped. The three held their breath, knowing that Klopp was likely to act soon.

"Should we transform?" Thomas whispered.

Ramos nodded. Before the three of them could even begin to undress, the wood of the shed splintered outward and cracked as a lycanthrope burst through. He didn't spare them a glance before running across the yard on all fours. The six men stood shocked for a second as the large beast catapulted over the fence and ran through the countryside towards the forest.

"Shit!" Marco cursed as he undressed quickly and Robert and Thomas made to follow suit.

"You're going after him?" Mario asked worriedly.

"Yep, you won't be able to keep up with him. I will. Thomas, you should stay behind," Marco said right before transforming. Carvajal tensed and his hands twitched, as though he wanted to shoot but, fortunately, he did not.

"What? Why?" Thomas asked, outraged. Marco just took a deep breath and ran off.

"Think about it," Robert said hurriedly. "They can't keep up so if we all run off, they won't know where to find us. You'll help them track us, okay?"

Thomas frowned but he understood that this was necessary. "Be careful."

Robert nodded and took off at a sprint. Between one step and the next, he transformed and Thomas stared at the majestic black creature racing after Marco. He sighed and bent to scoop their clothes into the empty bag he had for this exact reason.

"Do you think that the two of them can handle him on their own?" Mario asked with wide eyes but nobody could answer him.

Ramos sighed and dragged his hand down his face. He walked towards the shed and peered inside the gaping hole. It wasn't a pleasant sight. The other three men soon joined him. Thomas stomach turned inside out at the sight of the bodies that were painted a brutal shade of red. A man and a woman were inside with various injuries. The man's left eye was bulging and swollen shut. The rest of his face was also bruised black and blue. His body was no better. Scratches stretched across his chest, arms and legs. The woman's right hand was swollen to the size of a watermelon. Both her legs were bent at an awkward angle. Her worst injury, however, was the two scratches spanning from her hairline to her chin. One went through her right eye.

"Mario, call an ambulance and get them help. Dani, you're in charge over here. Müller, you're with me. We're going after the suspect and your friends."

"Okay, then, follow me and let's go after them." Being alone with Ramos made Thomas wish that Mario was with them - at least that way there would be someone he could nervously ramble at without fear of becoming target practice.

***

Robert and Marco were racing after Klopp and had him within their sights. Whether consciously or not, they kept a distance between him and them just to be safe. Things grew more tense when they broke through the forest's tree-line. They had to weave through trees while keeping Klopp in their sights despite the trees and bushes obscuring their vision. It would be easy for him to stray away and attack them from anywhere.

The chase continued for a while longer before Klopp disappeared from their sight. They both slowed to a stop and sniffed the air. Their ears twitched as they strained to hear as far as possible.

Robert transformed back quickly. "I think he's just up ahead. What are we gonna do? The others are still far behind," he whispered. Knowing that Marco would hear him, he barely opened his mouth so that Klopp wouldn't hear.

"I'll go talk to him," Marco suggested just as quietly after he, too, transformed.

"What? Marco, what if he mistakes you for a H.A.L.A. agent? He could hurt you. Remember, he's not thinking very clearly."

"Listen, we need to get this sorted out, right? This is my fault so just let me do this," he replied impatiently and stood up from where they were crouching in the bushes. "But if you hear screaming, ignore all that and come help me." 

Marco kept walking through the trees and kept an eye out for Klopp either as a human or lycanthrope. A voice rang out from above him and his head shot up to see where he was.

"You're helping H.A.L.A? Do you know who they are and what they do? They must be forcing you, that's it."

"Trust me, we know them -" he called out "-And we know what it's like to lose your pack - we did too -"

"The hunters took your pack, too, didn't they? So you understand me, you're just like me." A loud rustle of leaves sounded out in front of him. He tried not to shiver when he met Klopp's eyes. They were somehow both wild and full of steady focus.

"Not quite," he replied carefully. "H.A.L.A. killed our pack. We're from...elsewhere but we got help from B.A.R.S.A. and now here we are. Why don't you surrender? If I got pardoned, maybe -"

"Pardoned for what?"

"....Murder."

"And where is it you're from? I don't recognize you at all. Oh, wait, you must be from the underground pack."

"You...you know about us?" Marco stuttered.

"Of course I do. I remember when they all went underground all those years ago - the fools. I tried to warn them against it but they went anyway. Our kind should be one with the moon, not run from it. Then once the suppressor was released, my pack and I tried to find you but had no luck until one night - would you believe it - we found you all. We wanted to tell you the good news but the hunters found us first. I didn't have time to do much other than break the door open before I had to run again. I didn't want the hunters to see where you were living. All it takes is one bullet in the wrong place and we're dead, suppressor or not. By the time I could return, it was empty. Bloody, too. I could _smell_ it. I could _see_ it."

"You...were the one who broke the door?" Marco asked after he picked his jaw up from where it fell on the ground. What were the chances? "And you did it to _free_ us?"

"Yes, weren't you listening?" Klopp rolled his intense eyes. "As you said, you've lost your pack - to hunters, I'm sure. So you understand, the humans, all they do is take from us and kill us when we try to take something back."

Marco's mind was reeling from the new information. The biggest question had just been answered and he couldn't help but feel that this was all inevitable - it was all connected. He was struggling to keep his mind on track rather than reflect on what he'd learnt. "But y-you - why didn't you go to B.A.R.S.A. for help?"

Jürgen rolled his eyes again. "I did but when you really need them, they can't do anything. They just say: 'Oh, you lost your entire pack? I'm sorry to hear that'. They treat our wounds and offer us counseling but once you leave, you get shot by a hunter and they do fucking nothing. Only one thing stops hunters - death."

"You're right," Marco lied in a soothing voice. "The humans wouldn't understand us, no matter what. Come with me and my friends -"

"No! I'm not stupid. You were just telling me to surrender. Why would I put myself at the mercy of humans who are so quick to kill us? They choose to ignore the hunters under their noses and focus on us who're just trying to live happy lives."

"I know, trust me, I _know_. But I've learnt that it doesn't help to turn into the monsters they expect us to be. This isn't the way."

Klopp let out a harsh laugh. "You'd say this after killing someone."

"Who else could? Nobody else could understand. I know the anger you feel but...killing isn't the way to solve these problems."

"Then what would you do? How do we stop the hunters from doing to other packs what they did to mine?" His eyes turned cold and assessing. Marco felt a rush of adrenaline kick-in. This was entering dangerous territory now.

"I...Well, I don't know but there must be other options than this. H.A.L.A. want you dead but if you just turn yourself in - "

A throaty growl cut through the air. Klopp's eyes seemed to flash in anger. "I see now. You're a sympathizer. You'd rather protect the humans than your own."

Pops and cracks echoed in the forest air as he transformed. Marco was quick to change as well. Just as he did, a lump of blonde and grey fur launched at him mouth - and fangs - first. He barely put an arm up in time. He yelped at the pain. He threw out his other arm to scratch at Klopp, but he didn't seem to feel the pain.

Marco growled angrily and dug his claws into Klopp's chest and pushed him into the nearest tree. Robert came into view then. He quickly took in the sight and rushed to Marco's side. Klopp could see he would be outnumbered and, before Robert could reach them, shoved at Marco with all his might. Marco fell back and this gave him the room to keep running.

Robert didn't stop to look at Marco's state. He had to stay focused on the mission. Instead, he raced after Klopp and pounced on him as he caught up. The two lycanthropes tumbled and crashed into a tree trunk. Robert managed to get his claws Klopp who retaliated with all the fury and fear of a cornered animal. He dug all eight of his claws into Robert's lower abdomen and scratched upwards, tearing bloody pathways into Robert's entire chest. Robert choked out a sound of pain and stumbled to the ground.

The agonizing pain was an overpowering sensation and he could hardly focus on anything else. He attempts to keep his blood in his body with his paws were in vain. It spilt out onto his fur, wetting the shiny black fur. He could feel himself growing dizzier and dizzier at the sight. His panicked breaths were followed by panicked thoughts. He wanted Thomas to be there with him.

Knowing that he'd dealt a heavy blow to Robert, Klopp sagged against the tree behind him. The holes in his chest from Marco's attack were still bleeding and he needed to catch his breath if he was going to get away.

Marco's eyes were wide at the damage inflicted to Robert and howled out to Thomas. He hadn't been sure what to expect from a feral lycanthrope but he was beginning to realize that the humans in his life hadn't been exaggerating. Klopp was fighting for his life and had nothing to lose.

Elsewhere, Thomas froze as he heard a howl. He knew that couldn't be good. Without thinking, he transformed. Robert and Marco needed his help and he'd be damned if he bothered doing something unimportant such as undressing beforehand.

"Wait!" Ramos yelled. "Don't run off on your own."

Thomas paid him no attention and nearly tore off on his own anyway but Ramos stopped him. "Just tell me, it's straight ahead, right?"

Thomas nodded and sprinted off despite Ramos' swearing behind him. He dodged all the trees in his way as he grew closer and closer to the sickening smell of blood. Anxiety rolled within him. He had no idea what state they'd be in when he got there. What if they'd lost limbs already or worse? Even their accelerated healing had its limits.

When he finally reached them, they were both in a bad way. Robert had terribly deep scratches on his torso, meanwhile the fur of Marco's right arm was matted with blood. How had things gotten this bad while Thomas was having a nature retreat through the forest with Ramos?

He took a step towards Robert's immobile body but stopped when he saw Klopp's retreating form. He hurried forward and leapt onto Klopp's back where he had been turning to leave the area. Klopp let out a surprised bark as he tried to wriggle out from underneath Thomas, who was holding on tightly. However, his breath was knocked out of him when Klopp bent over and yanked Thomas over his head so that he landed on his back on the ground.

Thomas quickly rolled to the side to dodge Klopp's next attack. When he sprung up, he tackled Klopp to the ground. The two wrestled on the floor with neither getting the advantage over the other before Thomas clawed at Klopp's already injured eye. The injured lycanthrope hissed and scrambled away from Thomas.

A startled flock of birds scattered in the sky when a loud bang echoed in the forest. Marco curled up in response to the unfortunately familiar noise. Thomas looked up and saw Ramos in the clearing with his rifle up and aimed at Klopp.

The feral lycanthrope turned towards Ramos with a growl rattling in his throat. Between one blink and the next, Klopp charged at Ramos like a bull towards a red cloth. Ramos' shoulders shook with the shots he kept firing at the approaching lycanthrope who wasn't slowing down in the slightest.

Before Klopp could reach him, Marco tackled him off to the side. Looking at Klopp, he seemed even wilder than before. He squirmed relentlessly in Marco's hold. Thomas rushed over to help hold him down. Between the two of them, Klopp couldn't wrestle free. Ramos hurried over from where he was and wasted no time in taking aim and firing. Klopp finally stopped moving as a little blood pooled in the new hole in his head.

Thomas jerked up and away from his chillingly still body. He shot to his feet and rushed to Robert, who was still unmoving on the ground. A high pitched whine left him as he took a look at Robert's extensive injuries. Blood still oozed out of him and yet, his chest still rose and sank. Thomas was deathly afraid that the next sink could be his last.

Thomas began shaking him lightly, trying his best not to jostle him too much for fear of putting him in even more pain. He could hear his heartbeat but it was erratic. Robert's eyes fluttered open. His vision was unfocused but he could sense that Thomas was near him. How badly he wanted to reach up and grasp his paw but his strength had long since left him.

"Here!" Ramos said as he threw their backpack at Thomas. "Put pressure on the wound with a t-shirt or something."

Only Thomas transformed back, he was the least injured of the three and large wounds on a lycanthrope could be fatal on a human body. Rushing, he threw Marco's shirt at his head while hurrying to gently press both his own and Robert's t-shirts to Robert's large injuries.

In the background, Ramos could be heard communicating with Carvajal. The hunters from the shed had been rushed to hospital and Ramos instructed Carvajal to call B.A.R.S.A. to treat the lycanthropic injuries.

"Will you all be okay to wait here a while longer? B.A.R.S.A. will be here soon."

"W-We should be alright. We're _gonna_ be alright," Thomas responded with all the conviction he could muster up, which wasn't saying much.

"Talk to him. Keep him awake," Ramos advised.

Thomas wasn't normally someone who needed any encouragement to talk but his mouth was dry and the stone in his throat was difficult to talk around. "Robert. Lewy. Hey, please stay awake. B.A.R.S.A. will be here soon. Hey, you know, we succeeded. The mission was a...success -" He looked at Klopp's lifeless body briefly and swallowed thickly. "-so Marco will be okay, thank God. Imagine all the things we'll be able to do now that we're free. Stay awake and maybe I'll let you convince me to go on a jet-ski although we still need to learn how to swim. It might be fun, but only after horse-riding, okay?"

Robert could only cough wetly in reply before his eyes slipped closed.

"Robert!" Thomas called out in concern.

Marco came over and kneeled on the other side of Robert's body.

"It's the blood loss," Ramos said as he approached. "Here. Use my shirt too. Do what you can to stop the bleeding."

Thomas' human ears could hear sirens getting closer and he used that to comfort himself as he pressed his shaking hands to the bloody wounds. He could only hope that Robert would be okay. They hadn't come this far and done all this to live free lives just to have Robert die there. He wouldn't accept it. He willed the ambulances to move quicker to save his man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, fight scenes. I hope I did a semi-good job with it at least. Also, When I was editing this, I realized how differently Thomas and Robert handled their conflict, vs how Mario and Marco do. 
> 
> T&R: talk it all through thoroughly until there's nothing left to say. 
> 
> M&M: Say the absolute minimum and move on as soon as possible. 
> 
> Onto important things. I was nervous about this because I didn't want the Klopp thing to just seem like a convenient thing I suddenly just added. So throughout the story, there were little hints in chapter 6 to at least give this background situation a build-up to this point. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the seventh chapter! Tune in next week for Robert's funeral.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so I'm embarrassed to say but I've mixed something up. In chapter 3, when Gerard was talking about how the scousers had been killed by hunters, that actually doesn't fit with the timeline so I went back and changed that a little bit. It isn't necessary to go back and read it over. It goes like this: Klopp and his pack received the suppressor -> they went looking for the underground pack -> the hunters found them and did some murdering -> Klopp went feral. So, you see, Gerard couldn't have known. 
> 
> Remember when I said the final chapter would be a normal length? Me neither :) 
> 
> I only just finished the HTML for this chapter and it was such a mission. It was truly Friday 13th. Anyway, enjoy the **final** chapter!

Every second felt like an eternity until the ambulances arrived. When they finally did, Thomas forced his way into the ambulance with Robert while offering virtually no explanation and, stubborn as a mule, refused to leave. Ramos, of all people, convinced them that it was for the best even though Thomas was uninjured.

With trembling hands and very little space to maneuver, Thomas dressed himself in Robert's pants but there were no spare shirts for him to use. They had all been soiled in Robert's blood. He fidgeted all throughout the drive by tapping his feet or picking Robert's blood out from under his nails, much to the annoyance of the paramedics but anything they said flew over his head. He was far too worried to think of anything other than Robert.

Once they arrived, things were almost anti-climactic - they even allowed Thomas into the room for the whole procedure, which didn't take very long. A nurse carefully shaved the fur on his chest as well as a patch in the crook of both his arms. She didn’t shave all of it for fear of aggravating his injuries further, not to mention that he was still losing blood as they worked.

The doctor who treated Robert was one who Thomas wasn't familiar with. She worked fast, almost as though Robert didn’t need any extra special care. She simply put him under anaesthesia and stapled the wound together after sterilizing it. Once the wounds were sealed, Robert was hooked up to an IV to help replace the ocean of blood he'd lost.

“Unfortunately, we have a shortage of his blood type at the moment but we’ll give him enough to keep him stable.”

Thomas frowned, outraged. “No. If he needs more -”

“I’m sorry but he’s not the only patient in this hospital and there really is a shortage. His body will recover, don’t you worry about that, but we can’t spare any more for him,” she replied sternly.

“Fine then. What effect will that have on him?”

“He’ll feel weak and dizzy when he wakes up. We’ll put him under anaesthesia again, as well as give him nutrients intravenously -”

“What’s that mean?”

“Through an IV. Just like here, with the blood.” She gently tapped the IV in Robert’s arm and continued when Thomas nodded in understanding. “When he wakes up, he mustn’t leave the bed. We’ll keep an eye on him and be in with the vitamins and morphine later. Now, you should get yourself cleaned up. It’ll be a shock to him to wake up and see you like this.”

She looked at him expectantly and sighed when he wasn’t forthcoming with a confirmation. She went on to tell him that Robert wouldn't be allowed to transform back for about a day. According to her, his wounds would take a few days to heal fully and after that he'd be good as new, except for a bit of scarring perhaps. Then she was gone.

Thomas had expected something...more. More urgent, more life-threatening. Just _more_ than what it was. It felt as though Robert's severe injuries weren't being treated as such. He knew, objectively, that accelerated healing meant they could survive things humans could not, but that didn't change the fact that Robert's blood was still staining his hands. He had lost so much blood and yet treatment hadn't taken very long at all. Don't be mistaken, he was relieved to hear Robert would be okay soon but it was treated so trivially and that bothered him.

Not too long after the doctor left, Marco walked in. Unlike Robert, he had been allowed to transform back and his forearm had been stitched up and bandaged. With his good arm, he carried a box of painkillers.

"How is he?"

Thomas twisted his mouth. "He'll be awake soon and they’re gonna give him some food in his veins. He’ll be fully healed in a few days but he'll have to stay lycanthropic for a bit. You?"

Marco shrugged. It didn't seem like the right time to complain about his arm. "There is a sink right there. Wash your hands at least." He knew it would be useless to try to get Thomas to go clean up but he wouldn't have to leave the room to use the sink.

The stream of water was stained red as it circled the drain before disappearing. Thomas stayed quiet all the while. He was trying to get on good terms with his conscience lately but with this new incident, he could feel the guilt resurface with a vengeance. Robert had nearly died.

"You better not be telling yourself this is all your fault _again_."

Thomas was startled from his thoughts. "...So, how does it feel to be a free man again? You must be relieved, huh?"

Marco's bland expression showed that he knew what Thomas was trying to do. He wanted to tell Thomas of what he'd learnt from Klopp but, honestly, he would prefer to be able to tell both him and Robert at the same time. For now, he'd keep it to himself. "Do you know that we made it onto the news?"

"Really?" Thomas sounded mildly interested.

Marco nodded. "The doctor who treated me told me. They didn't give out our names but they mentioned us. H.A.L.A. couldn't hide Klopp's injuries, which obviously came from a lycanthrope if you ignore the bullet holes, so it's not as if they had a choice."

Thomas shrugged and cracked a brittle smile. "Every cloud has a white lining."

" _Silver_ lining, dumbass. Anyway, I'm exhausted so I’m gonna try to sleep. Just be sure to get some rest, okay?"

Thomas nodded. "Yeah, you too."

"No promises."

When Marco left the room, Thomas returned to his seat at Robert's bedside. He leaned forward and folded his arms on the bed as a makeshift pillow for his head. His shoulders sagged heavily and his eyes welled up and he didn't think to blink the tears away. Instead, they rolled down his nose onto the forearms.

"Please wake up soon,” Thomas whispered into the silence.

***

The first time Robert woke up, the morphine was beginning to wear off. For the most part, the light waves of pain were diluted by the fuzziness he felt in his head. Right on time, a nurse came in with two IV bags in hand. She made quick work of replacing them. His eyes drowsily scanned the room and his breath hitched when he met Thomas’ eyes. He opened his mouth but could only rasp.

Thomas’ fingers brushed soothingly through the fur on his head. “Don’t try to speak. You’re still transformed.”

In his delirious state, Robert hadn’t even noticed that he wasn’t human. He wondered why he couldn’t shift back.

“You can turn back once you’ve healed enough,” Thomas said, as if he’d heard Robert’s thoughts loud and clear. “The nurse gave you something to sleep. Don’t worry. Just rest, okay? Get better for me.”

Robert tried to listen intently but the more Thomas spoke, the further away he sounded. His own thoughts began to feel like slippery soap, he couldn’t hold onto them. His vision began to swim and, before he knew it, his eyelids were too heavy to keep open.

***

Hours later, when Robert awoke, he felt much more rested. All the same, it took him a few moments to figure out where he was. The snow-white hospital walls and strong antiseptic smell quickly clued him in. He heard soft snores beside him and sighed quietly when he saw Thomas sleeping in the chair beside his bed. That wouldn't be good for his neck at all. Given the extent of his injuries, he expected to be in more pain but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

He was hit with an overwhelming urge to scratch at the healing wounds on his torso. He stopped short at the sight of excessive bandages secured around him. At the edge of the bandages, he could see that he'd been shaven while asleep. The pale, pinkish skin stood out in stark contrast to his black fur and he just knew it would look even worse once the bandages were removed. He wanted to groan at the awkward sight but a growl came out instead. He hadn't transformed back and, remembering what happened, doing so would be a bad idea. Nevertheless, he hoped he could transform back soon.

The memories of their run-in with Klopp washed over him and he had to suppress a shudder. In retrospect, it all seemed to have happened within the blink of an eye but certain instances stuck with him - the metallic smell of Marco's blood when he first found them, the fierce, deranged look in Klopp's eyes and the searing pain when he was first injured. In his pain-induced delirium, it was mostly just certain senses that stuck with him - the overwhelming smell of blood which he knew was his own and the bang of Ramos' gun being fired. To him, what should've been a loud rattle sounded muted, as if he was underwater. After that, he couldn't remember a thing.

The thought that he had nearly died hit him like a ton of bricks. Had the ambulance not arrived quickly enough, he wouldn't have been there in the hospital room at that very moment. The pain that he felt, and the fear too, had their friends and family underground felt the same before their murders? Most likely, he concluded. It was not a feeling he wanted to get used to - helplessness and weakness.

A nurse strode in with an injection. He explained to Robert that, although he’d already done a lot of healing, he would need to be put asleep for a few more hours so his body can direct most of its energy towards recuperating. He nodded to show understanding. The nurse wasted no time in giving him the injection and shortly thereafter, Robert's vision became blurry and he was out like a light.

***

From the depths of his sleep, Thomas could feel somebody shaking his shoulder. His eyes fluttered open reluctantly. He straightened far too quickly when he recognized Robert's human face in front of him.

"You transformed back? How do you feel?" he asked as he rubbed at his stiff neck. Although he didn’t want to, he couldn’t resist looking at the scars. He hated them, these reminders of the time he’d nearly lost his man.

"I feel okay." Robert's comforting smile was paper-thin and Thomas didn't believe him for a second. "Leo just left. He told me I was healed enough to transform back and that I can leave the bed if I want. He also had to take me off the painkillers to help stimulate the healing a bit more."

"Oh damn." Thomas stood up in alarm. "If it's that bad, I'll go say something. They can't just -"

"No, no." Robert shook his head. "It's okay. It's nothing I can't handle. But there is something I need you to do for me..."

"Anything." Thomas was ready to bring Robert the moon if he asked for it.

"Can you go fetch me some clothes, please?"

Thomas couldn't hold his laughter in. That was the last thing he'd expected but, thinking back to how everything had unfolded, it made sense. He knew that he, too, needed a change of clothes. He had been wearing nothing but Robert’s jeans and blood stains for over a day. "I'll be right back. Don't get too lonely now."

Robert's eyes followed Thomas all the way out of the room. The click of the door echoed strangely in the silent room.

When he'd shifted earlier, the bandages, which had been wrapped around him sometime while he’d been unconscious, fell uselessly onto the bed. They were much too big for his human body. It was his first time getting a good look at his scars. The paths of raised skin that spanned from his hips to his collarbone were still red but scabbing at the edges.

Earlier, Leo had informed him that, despite his healing, the scar tissue would always be there - eight, permanent reminders of the time when death was knocking, or banging rather, on his door.

He was lost in his hazy memories of that day as he gently traced one of the scars. More time must have passed than he'd realized because, before he knew it, Thomas had returned.

Thomas had seen him inspecting his scars and came to sit beside him on the hospital bed. "How long will they take to heal?"

"...They won't," he reluctantly admitted. "Leo told me that once the scabs are gone, my body will just decide it's fully healed. So...I'll always have these scars."

Thomas was quiet for a moment, contemplative. He might always associate the scars with painful memories but he’d rather die than tell Robert that. "Then you'll have battle scars to remind you of the time you survived."

Robert shook his head and reached for the clothing Thomas had brought down with him. He carefully put his underwear on and then the sweatpants, wincing as his wounds stretched. "Can you do the bandages for me, please?"

Thomas nodded but his eyes were still assessing Robert as he wrapped fresh bandages around Robert's midsection. "They aren't anything to be ashamed of, Robert. The scars are a reminder of your strength to pull through a very dark time in our lives."

"I was too weak to help," Robert said morosely.

"No, you weren't. Klopp was feral - he was almost stronger than all of us combined. Ramos shot him so many times but he still wasn't going down. I saw it myself. Anyone in that situation wouldn't have been able to put him down alone. But you tried and -"

"And _failed_." Robert’s voice broke on the last word. He couldn’t keep it in any longer. He exhaled a wet, shuddering breath and felt hot streams of tears flow down his cheeks.

Thomas gathered Robert up into his arms and held him carefully. Robert’s heavy breathing and hiccups sounded very loud in the otherwise still room but Thomas didn’t try to shush him. He needed to get this all out.

“I nearly _died_ ,” Robert whispered into the wet patch on the shoulder of Thomas’ t-shirt. In response, Thomas rubbed a comforting hand through his black hair.

For a long while, the only sound between them was Robert’s pained cries. Even after his reservoir of tears was empty, they sat quietly. Thomas’ hand migrated from Robert’s hair to rub his back instead.

"You didn't fail,” Thomas whispered. Talking would shatter the moment. “You're _still here_ , after all. And thank God for that, Lewy. You fought and survived. That's what matters. I don't...I don’t mind the scars, actually. I’m just relieved that you’re still here. With me. The scars - they're going to look badass and they'll have a meaning too: that you're strong. You faced a feral and lived to tell the story. I doubt many can say that."

Thomas helped Robert into his shirt so he wouldn't have to stretch his arms over his head and aggravate the healing scars.

Robert mulled over Thomas' words. He knew Thomas was trying to put a positive spin on things and he appreciated the effort. He rubbed his tear tracks away and said, "Thank you."

Thomas pecked him on the lips. "Of course. Let me go get you some tissue for your nose.” Thomas did just that in the small adjoining bathroom.

When he returned, he said, “Oh! I have an idea!"

Robert made an amused face after blowing his nose. "I already don't like where this is going."

Thomas shoved him lightly before speaking, "So I'm still working on my survivor’s guilt, right? All this that happened recently didn't help anything, like at all, but I promise I'll keep working on it healthily if you do the same, okay?"

Robert cracked a little smile as he nodded. Thomas insisted on a pinky promise because why not?

"And seal it with a kiss."

Their next kiss was much more passionate than the previous one. They got so lost in each other that they didn't hear when the door opened next.

"Ugh. I'd say get a room but." Marco gestured at the hospital room around them. He noticed Robert’s bloodshot eyes but said nothing. "How are you feeling, Lewa?"

The man in question shrugged. "Better now that I'm human again. Your arm?"

"It's good," Marco replied and he lifted the arm up as proof. He, too, had faint scars from where Klopp's sharp teeth had dug in to accompany those from his past bullet wounds. "Meanwhile, here we have uninjured Thomas, just enjoying life."

"You're the ones who left me behind with Ramos," Thomas teased with a laugh. He understood the need to try and make light of the situation. Treating it too seriously would just bring them down into a somber mood once again.

Marco took a seat beside the bed the couple were still seated on and braced himself for the bombshell he was about to drop on them. "On the topic of yesterday, I have some news for you two."

Predictably, the pair shot him curious gazes. Marco wondered where he should begin and decided to just get it out there. No use in hesitating.

"So, Klopp was the one who opened the underground's door. He told me before...before."

"What?" Thomas exclaimed in shock. Of all the things he'd been expecting, that wasn't very high up on the list, or even on the list at all.

Robert gasped and then furrowed his brows in confusion. "Wait, I...I remember hearing you two talking about that. How could I have forgotten _that_?"

"A lot happened to you that day. It makes sense that you kind of forgot," Marco replied.

"So..." Thomas began. "Okay, wait. He broke the door down after he became feral for what? For fun?"

"No, uh, just before. Apparently, he'd been against our parents going underground from the start and when the suppressor was invented, he and his pack tried to find them. The night they found the door, the hunters got them. That's when they killed his pack. And that's why he started hunting them."

"Well, damn." Thomas' response summed it all up very well.

"I know right." Marco huffed out a humourless laugh.

"So he was, like, a lycanthrope freedom fighter or something? Should we...be thankful to him or something?" Thomas asked them. The more that was revealed, the messier and more convoluted it all became.

"Can we be?" Robert asked sharply. "Had the door not been open the morning we wanted to leave, then we couldn't have come up here in the first place. His intentions might have been good but I won't thank him for shit."

Thomas wanted to kick himself. How could he have asked that knowing what Klopp had done to Robert? "I didn't mean -"

"No, it's fine. I know what you meant. He's just not someone we should be admiring. Yes, he's a victim of circumstance, but he didn't use those circumstances to be better. I mean, he _said_ he was doing it for the lycanthropes but then he hurt us too."

"Yes," Thomas agreed quickly, eager to make up for his earlier slip-up. "He could've reported the hunters instead of torturing them."

Marco stared at his hands contemplatively. "If there's anything we've learnt, it's that violence won't end violence - it only creates more violence. The only way to end it would be...integration, I guess, and education about things you don't know. For us, for H.A.L.A. and the hunters too."

Thomas hummed and then asked, "So what's next for us, guys? Now that this is all over, we can think of the future and what our options are."

"My first priority is getting out of this bed. As for the rest of it, who can say? All I know is, it's finally over," Robert said with tangible relief in his voice.

***

From that point onwards, since nothing was holding them back any longer, things progressed very quickly. Two days passed and Marc-Andre had driven them to get photographs taken for their identity documents. Home affairs was off the table, considering they'd never even had birth certificates in the first place. The mountain of forms they needed to fill in since they were both lycanthropes and essentially non-existent were tiring. An exception had been made and their documents had been sent straight to the head office of such things.

The process of getting identity documents felt extra special for the trio. A long-awaited feeling of freedom came along with the endless possibilities they felt before them.

Looking out the windows on the drive back, the scenery seemed even brighter. It was a world they would soon be joining.

When they returned to B.A.R.S.A, Marco split from Robert and Thomas. There was something he needed to discuss with Gerard.

"Gerard. I was looking for you." Marco recalled the last time one of them had sought the other out. That was the evening Gerard tricked him into confessing. Unpleasant memories.

"Hmm?"

"I have an idea. I was wondering if...Since, as you know, we're going to need to integrate with the surface world now. So I was thinking what the right thing for me to do would be..." He trailed off before taking a deep breath. "Would it be possible for me to be employed by H.A.L.A?"

Gerard blinked. Then he blinked again before laughing. He grabbed Marco’s shoulder as he replied, "The delivery of that joke was perfect. You nearly got me there -"

"I'm being serious. I want - well, want is a strong word - but I feel like I _should_ work for them, if it's possible."

"Marco, you know they _hunt_ lycanthropes, right? You remember what they did to your pack?"

"No, that actually slipped my mind." Marco leveled him with a glare. "But you remember what I did to Kroos and Casemiro, don't you?"

"You wanna do this out of...guilt?" Gerard frowned deeply when he realized Marco really wasn't kidding.

"I know it makes no sense, believe me. I was thinking about the conversation we had at the hospital - do I deserve to live? I still don't know but if I try to make up for it then...then maybe one day I can answer ‘yes’. Working for H.A.L.A. is the only way to do that. To put my life on the line working with them, it's reckless, but if I can change their opinions about lycanthropes, that we aren't just dogs, then I'll be doing some good in the world."

Gerard gave him a long, searching look. "And what are Thomas and Robert's reasons for this?"

"No, it's only gonna be me. They don't know yet but it's not like they can stop me. If you'll help me, then I'll let them know."

Gerard thought it over for a minute. Marco stood waiting impatiently for his response.

"I don't know if they'll even consider it. Lycanthropes have never been welcomed at H.A.L.A. before, to my knowledge. But if you want to change things, this would be the way to do it."

Marco nodded. He would've asked Mario but he had no way of contacting him yet so it had to be Gerard. "So, you'll help me?"

"You still need to ask? After everything?" Gerard let out a short laugh. "I can't tell them who they should employ but I'll talk to Mario, who might be willing to put in a good word for you. Ramos too, maybe. Featuring on the news might work in your favour."

"Thanks. That's all I'm asking for."

"But I'm telling you, this is stupid," Gerard warned with a frown.

"Yeah. I know." Marco's reply was as solemn as could be.

***

Robert and Thomas' reaction to the news was a lot worse.

They skipped the comical laughs and went straight to yelling, scolding and trying to convince him against it.

"Is this what you meant by integration? You'll be integrated with the ground. As a corpse!" Thomas yelled, waving his arms wildly.

Marco was grateful he had the foresight to talk to them in their bedroom. Such a conversation in the common areas would not have turned out well at all.

"Marco. This would be suicide. Don't be stupid," Robert said. Robert stood up from his seat on the bed as if that would make Marco listen even more.

"Oh my God, just _listen_ to me. I know it's stupid. I know it's risky but it's the right thing to do-"

"The _right_ thing?" Robert asked incredulously.

"Does this have to do with those two agents?" Thomas asked. Marco noticed that his serious face made a swift return.

"...Partly. I know it probably makes no sense, but I feel like I should make up for that," Marco muttered before continuing louder. "But also, I think this could really help change their views on lycanthropes - that we aren't just animals. Like I said, I know it's risky but I'm doing it."

“We had to fight for the chance to live up here and now you wanna do this?” Robert squinted at him in confusion.

“Exactly. So I’ve got the freedom to choose. And I choose this."

Robert shook his head and opened his mouth to argue further but Thomas spoke up first.

"Is something like this even allowed? It seems to go against everything H.A.L.A. stand for."

"What? Thomas!" Robert exclaimed. "Why are you even considering this?"

"I’m considering this because Marco is!" he returned. "And it doesn't seem like he'll change his mind anytime soon."

"I won't," Marco confirmed. "I don't know if it can happen. Gerard said he'll look into it and I know it won’t be easy. There’ll probably be training I have to do, not to mention discrimination, but if I can do it then I will do it. You can't convince me otherwise."

"But they could _kill_ you," Robert emphasized. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a deep frown on his face.

"Maybe," Marco conceded. "But not likely. Since lycanthropes can transform whenever we want, H.A.L.A. don't have an advantage any longer. It makes sense. They'll need my help. This recent thing with Klopp just proves my point."

"...You may have a point. But at least let us join with you," Robert said.

Marco shook his head. "You don't have to. You two don't owe them anything."

"Neither do you," Robert insisted.

"Let us help you," Thomas said.

But Marco held firm. He couldn't let the two of them do this. It was something he needed to do on his own. It was his fault, after all, that they had to go after Klopp in the first place. Then Robert got injured. He knew that it wouldn't make up for it but it felt like something he just had to do.

"No. You guys can do something else. Anything else. Live your lives, okay? And if they do kill me, use my death as a tool to raise awareness, okay? Be sure to mention my heroism."

"Marco Reus: a brave soldier until the very end. So brave, in fact, that he signed up to join those who took his family away from him. What a guy, ladies and gentlemen." Thomas brushed a fake tear from his eye.

Marco broke out in dramatic applause.

Robert sighed exasperatedly. "You know, that's actually pretty good. Maybe you should just take one for the team right now, Marco."

"Was that - was that a joke? From Robert?" Marco asked overdramatically.

"That's something truly worthy of applause." Thomas laughed as he nudged Robert in the side. Robert tried unsuccessfully to bat his elbow away and the three of them fell into laughter.

"We really can't convince you?" Robert asked when they sobered up.

"No, you can't," Marco replied sternly. "I've made up my mind. And you guys won't be joining me."

"I just wanna say that if you're doing this out of guilt, you've got nothing to be guilty for," Thomas added.

"Hypocrite," Marco replied with a judgementally raised eyebrow.

"Hey," Robert interjected. "Thomas and I promised each other to work on our guilt. We'll try to forgive ourselves. You should do the same."

"...Okay but I'm not gonna pinky-promise."

***

They picked their IDs up two weeks later and the pictures looked terrible. All the same, they were elated. All those weeks ago, when they left the underground, it was all leading to this one moment. The thought was overwhelming.

"Why wouldn't they let us smile?" Thomas grumbled.

"Specialized torture," Marc joked. "Don't worry. Everybody hates their ID photos. Mine looks like a mugshot."

They put their displeasure to the back of their minds and focused on the positives instead. However, before they could fully move on with their lives, there was one thing left to do. The plan had always been to go back home.

"You're sure you don't want anyone to drive you out this weekend?" Gerard offered. Work kept them busy but he was willing to help.

"Geri, come on, they're adults." Leo put a hand on Gerard's shoulder to get his attention. "Let's get to work."

"Are you coming back?" Marc asked. There was no judgement on his face or in his voice.

Robert nodded. "We are."

"Don't miss us too much." Marco winked playfully.

"As if. You've been the most troublesome patients." Gerard laugh was joyful but he and Marco shared a knowing look.

The trio said their goodbyes and left B.A.R.S.A. on their own for the first time since arriving there, except for Marco although this was wildly different. With some unspoken agreement, they didn't transform, but rather, they walked all the way. Compared to their very first day above ground, they found the underground with ease. In the time that had passed, they'd become quite familiar with the woods after all.

"There it is," Robert said, feeling strangely breathless. What was once covered by a door, was now just a seemingly random doorway in the forest.

"It's been so long." Thomas traced along the doorway before stepping through. He could see it all clearly, but he couldn't help but feel as if the light was swallowed by the mouth of the tunnel.

Perhaps one day, they'd bring their friends down here with them and show them around but this time, it was private. A moment to themselves, to finally say the goodbye they hadn't yet had the opportunity to say. It was long overdue.

Walking down the tunnel was surreal. A barrage of emotions knocked into them like a wrecking ball, so hard their knees nearly buckled.

"I've never heard it be so quiet," Thomas whispered into the still air.

Weeks had gone by, fortunately, because the smell of blood wasn't permeating in the air any longer. Even with their improved vision, the blood had all soaked into the earth. Despite this, they couldn't, not even for a second, fool themselves into believing everything was the same.

As Thomas said, it was deathly quiet and there wasn't even the low humming of the lights as background noise. The underground was a ghost town.

Marco's skin broke out in chills. "I didn't think I'd ever say this but it feels...small. Like closed off, you know?"

"Claustrophobic." Robert nodded while looking up at the ceiling which appeared to be bearing down on their heads. Nearer and nearer. The clammy darkness wasn't helping matters. "It is weird. But also, it's weird that _is_ weird. We used to live here."

The three strolled down the empty streets. Their memories of the underground didn't match the desolate caverns they saw now. They had pleasant memories of a time that couldn't be brought back. Much like a favourite jersey from childhood that you didn't fit into any longer. It hurt.

"Hey, there's where we got the vegetables we had to deliver. Remember, Lewy?" Thomas asked while pointing into the old trader's room.

They walked over and took a look inside. Thomas realized that the entirety of the shop was no bigger than a B.A.R.S.A. hospital room.

"Was everything always this small?" Robert voiced Thomas' thoughts. It made him feel sad for some reason, how comparatively smaller their entire world had been for all those years.

"Imagine how much smaller it'd look with people running about." Marco's voice grew softer as he spoke. Memories of lively children and worn, but content adults played in his mind's eye.

"We haven't been gone that long but it feels like an age," Thomas said as he left the trader's room.

Their trip down memory lane ended at the greenhouse. The screen of windows was nothing but shards of broken glass. Pieces of glass were stained a rusty red. The trio weren't quite surprised to see the wilted plants, rather heartbroken. It was almost symbolic.

"Wanna go inside?" Thomas suggested.

"Might as well." Robert shrugged.

"God, this place. Remember when these were the only plants we'd seen. Not knowing that there was a whole fucking _forest_ above our heads the whole time." Marco shook his head ruefully.

The stepped through the window frame into what used to be the greenhouse. The crops were all a sickly yellow-brown. When Thomas felt along a leaf, it broke off and fell slowly to the floor. Truly, nothing had survived H.A.L.A's onslaught.

"Hey, you two," Robert called out. He was ready to address the elephant in the room. "Where are they? What did they do with their bodies?"

Thomas frowned and opened his mouth but he could say nothing. He had no answers.

Marco clenched his jaw. "I'm gonna knock some sense into H.A.L.A. and make sure nothing like this happens ever again."

"Mario might know," Thomas finally said. "We could try..." Try what, though? Asking for the bodies back to have a proper mass burial? Or build a pyre? Even before finished the thought, he knew it was impossible.

"Let's go." Robert sighed after the moment of silence had passed.

They left the greenhouse and entered the residential caverns. Although they could've split up, they did not. First, they went to Marco's old home. The sparse furniture had been overturned, disturbed by H.A.L.A. in their search for lycanthropes.

His eyebrows furrowed before he shut the door. "Never mind this. Let's just go to your place."

"But -" Thomas began.

"No. Just leave it." Marco stalked off. They trailed after him.

Thomas and Robert's home was in a similar state. Robert took care to right the tables and chairs. They were reminiscently quiet all the while as they packed a few of their belongings. There were only practical things, like clothes. While the loose-fitting clothing would look out of place of the surface, they didn't mind.

Their lives all packed into a single, solitary bag.

Thereafter, they began the trek back up.

"Do you think they would hate me?" Marco's voice was small. "For working with H.A.L.A? I know it's not official or anything yet, but...do you?"

"...Maybe," Thomas answered. "But, if anything, I think they'd hate us for leaving in the first place and it isn't any worse than that so, I think it's okay."

"You're doing a brave thing, Marco. Dumb, but brave. I think, looking at the bigger picture, they'd understand," Robert said. "The whole reason they left was to escape the hunters and all the discrimination. Now, you're trying to end all that so I think they'd understand, maybe even approve."

Marco hummed. "But you still think it's stupid?"

"Without a shadow of a doubt," Robert replied immediately.

The three men turned back one last time to take one last look at their home. Grief clogged their throats.

Before turning to leave, Thomas said, "Goodbye for now, underground." Robert and Marco followed him towards the light.

All three men's eyes remained dry the entire time. There weren't any tears left to cry.

Regarding what they left behind, the pain and regret was like a large boulder on their shoulders but they hoped the saying 'time heals all wounds' would ring true and the load would lighten.

Although there were still no concrete plans regarding their futures, the trio felt like they had something to look forward to and this was a breath of fresh air after weeks upon weeks of dread.

They fought tooth and nail for their freedom. Although they didn't quite know where they were going, they could rest assured knowing that it would be nobody's choice but their own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END. This is my first chapter fic and it feels bittersweet to be finished. Thank you so, so much for reading it all. An extra big thank you for the kudos and comments. They each mean so much to me. 
> 
> I was wrestling with whether or not Marco should join H.A.L.A. but in the end, he decided that he should. For the reasons he said but also for his own peace of mind. As for Thomas and Robert, that's up to you! 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the final chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the story. Let me know your thoughts. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Stay safe and have a nice day!


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